Mercies In Disguise
by crazygirl45
Summary: Looking right into my eyes, she whispers, "You're forgiven," and lightly kisses me on the cheek.Then just like that she's gone, and I'm left standing there like an idiot. One of the pleasures of falling in love with your best friend. S/OC J/L R/OC
1. Prologue

I do not own Harry Potter...sadly.

The air felt hot and stuffy, not unusual for mid July, but unpleasant all the same. The day after my eleventh birthday, I sat on my tire swing under the shady oak in my backyard. Nothing seemed different, but then we never expect the unusual do we? The sun started to set in the distance when I heard it. The sound of sneakers slapping the pavement on the other side of the fence. At first, nothing seemed different. People often ran outside in the evenings. The shudder of the fence made me turn around surprised. Something heavy hit the fence.

Slowly, I crept over to the gate. I opened the gate and peeked out to see what happened. I was surprised to find a boy around my age dragging a big trunk. That must have been what hit the fence. His shaggy black hair matted into big clumps glistening with sweat. I could tell by the state of his clothes, he hadn't been home in a few days. He stopped when he saw me, and I could see the dirt that streaked his face. His grey eyes studied me, and I stepped back frightened.

"You're a witch aren't you?" he said coming closer. Did he just call me a witch? Was he crazy? My eyes darted around the yard judging the fastest way to get back to the house.

"What's your blood?" he asked. Blood? What was he talking about? He was staring to scare me, and I stepped further away from him.

His eyes softened, and he spoke softly now, "I see. You're Muggleborn. You haven't gotten your letter yet." Letter to where? What was a Muggleborn? I turned to dart to the safety of the house, but he grabbed my hand. "Wait! Don't go!" he sounded desperate, and I stopped.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly. I wanted to run again, but curiosity got the better of me.

"Sirius Black," he sounded disgusted by his own name.

"Where do you live?" I asked. His face fell a little, but he quickly regained his cheerful smile.

"Nowhere. I ran away," Sirius said looking sad, but almost proud too. Ran away? What made him run away? As if he sensed my next question, he continued. "I'm a disgrace to purebloods," he said. That just made things even more confusing. I shook my head telling him I didn't understand.

"What's a pureblood?" I asked curiously. He no longer scared me. He looked like a boy who had a hard life and needed a friend. He didn't look like someone who would hurt me.

"It means I come from an all magic family," he said as if that cleared everything up. It didn't.

"Magic isn't real though," I said.

"Believe what you want," he said "But your a witch whether you want to be or not." I shook my head. I wasn't a witch. I couldn't be. He shrugged.

"Why are you a disgrace to purebloods?" I asked. He hesitated a minute then took my hand and led me over to a shady spot under the large oak tree. He gestured for me to sit, and I got the message that the story would take some time.

"Purebloods think muggleborns, like you, are a disgrace to the name of wizard. I disagree. My family is pureblood, and they've never liked me because of that," he said. He looked proud to be different, but I could hear the sadness and misery in his voice. I felt bad for him.

"So why didn't you run away before? Did something happen?" I asked. He looked away and didn't answer. I knew better than to pester him and instead stood up.

"Do you need a place to stay? I'm sure my parents won't mind," I said offering him my hand. He took it looking hopeful for a minute.

"Really?" Sirius asked. I nodded. He stopped and seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment, then nodded.

I opened the back door and took him into the kitchen where my mother was starting dinner. She looked up when we strolled in and raised her eyebrows at Sirius.

"Sammi, who's this?" she asked in that is-he-your-boyfriend tone. I shook my head smiling.

"This is Sirius. He needs a place to stay for awhile," I said. My mother was pretty easy going most of the time, and nodded.

"How long will he be staying?" she asked. I opened my mouth to answer her, but Sirius beat me to it.

"September 1st ma'am. That's when I go away to school. I won't be any trouble. I can help clean and sleep on the couch if you like," he said. My mother smiled warmly at him.

"That's quite alright dear. You can have the spare room and keeping Sammi occupied will be more than enough help," mother said. We both nodded, and I helped Sirius carry his trunk upstairs.

...

That night, at dinner, a loud screeching noise interrupted my father asking Sirius about his school. Sirius was telling us about magic and witches and wizards, and my parents listened curiously. I knew they thought he was insane. My father looked around to see where the noise had come from, and Sirius calmly got up and unlatched the window allowing a small grey owl in. He untied something from its leg ignoring the astonished looks we gave him. The owl pecked at his hand before taking off again. Sirius handed me one of the two letters he was holding. He tore his open quickly, but I just stared at mine. My name was written in swirly black letters. Miss Samantha Andrews. I opened it with shaking hands as my parents and Sirius watched.

Dear Miss Andrews,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Term begins on September 1st.

"Yours sincerely,

Minerva Mcgonagall

I read the letter aloud, and my parents looked shocked. Sirius was smiling, and he showed me his letter. It said the same thing. I gaped at the letters. "Do you believe me now?" Sirius said. I nodded slowly.

I still had a hard time believing it even when Sirius told me stories about Hogwarts and everything he knew about witches and wizards. It wasn't until we went to Diagon Alley that I finally believed him.

From that day forward, Sirius became my best friend. He told me stories about Hogwarts he'd heard from his parents, and my excitement grew. It wasn't too long afterwards we were off to Hogwarts for some of the best years of my life.


	2. Chapter 1

Still don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>Sam<p>

"Come on! We're gonna be late!" Sirius called rushing me out the door. My mother sighed, and my father laughed slightly. Sirius, like every year, insisted on being to Platform 9 3/4 at least an hour early. He complained someone might take his favorite compartment. I knew for a fact no one would for fear of meeting an angry Sirius. I tried to explain this to him, but he ignored me and continued shoving our trunks into the car. He waited impatiently as my mother locked the door behind her and took her time getting to the car. Sirius had taken to staying at our house every summer instead of going home to his horrible family.

The twenty minute ride there was filled with Sirius explaining in great detail everything he wanted to do that year. Most of it included pranks much to my mother's disapproval. I'd learned to tune him out when he was over excited like this. He was like a four-year -old sometimes.

We made it to the platform forty-five minutes early much to Sirius's dismay. He proceeded to jump out of the car before my father had even parked dragging me with him. He had his trunk out and was waiting for me within ten seconds. I was sure to be as slow as possible just to annoy him. "Hurry up Sam!" he complained. I just went slower, and it was a good ten minutes before I finally allowed him to lead me to the platform.

The platform was empty as usual, except for the conductor who greeted us with a, "Good Morning Mr. Black. Miss Andrews." We let him take our bags to our compartment, and turned around to say good bye to my parents. They'd long since stopped waiting for the train to leave, and said their good-byes as soon as we were settled.

"Have a good year," my mother said. "Keep your grades up, and win some quidditch games." Sirius and I both smiled. Quidditch was our favorite thing about Hogwarts. I was the Gryffindor seeker, and he and James were chasers. My mother didn't understand it all, but she knew it was important for us to win.

"Don't get into too much trouble, and Sirius, keep an eye on Sam. Don't let any guys near her, you hear?" my father said. I laughed. It was the same speech from him every year. I'd never forget in our 4th year, I came home with a boy friend, and my dad wouldn't speak to Sirius for days. It was all a big joke, but Sirius sure took it seriously. That was about the only thing he actually listened to my father about.

We boarded the train with one last good-bye, and watched from our window as my parents left. It would be around another twenty minutes before anyone showed up, so we stretched out on the seats staring at the ceiling. Sirius looked over at me, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say something. He must have changed his mind because he looked back up at the ceiling.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until James arrived with Peter close behind him. I jumped up when they came in and looked out the window. A small crowd was forming on the platform. Sirius moved over beside me leaving the other seat for James and Peter. The boys started talking about their latest prank ideas, and I went to see if Kaelin was there yet.

I wasn't really paying attention and bumped into someone knocking them over. "Oh!" I cried. "I'm so sorry!" I helped him to his feet. It was Severus Snape. If I had been Sirius or James, I probably would have been cursed until I bled, but as I was the only Marauder who didn't call him Snivillus, he let me go with a simple glare.

I reached the door of the train and saw Kaelin struggling to drag her trunk up the steps. She had overpacked as usual. I was about to help her when Remus came up behind her. He took the trunk and helped her get it onto the train. I backed away slowly before they saw me. Anyone with two eyes could tell he liked her. Except her of course.

I was on my way back when a tiny blonde first year asked me if I could help her get her trunk up onto the rack. Her trunk was surprisingly light, and it only took a moment. She thanked me and ran off with her friends. I smiled to myself remembering my first year. I had been just like that little girl.

When I reached the compartment, I found James and Snape locked in a duel with Sirius and Peter attacking Snape from behind. I gasped and shook my head. How could they get into a duel in the five minutes I'd been gone? I took out my wand and muttered a blocking spell rolling my eyes when all four boys fell. "What are you doing?" I asked. Severus picked up his fallen wand and was gone before I could get the words out. Sirius, James, and Peter were looking very guilty.

"Just having a bit of fun," James said giving me his lopsided grin. This wold have worked on any other girl at Hogwarts, but I was the exception. I shook my head sitting down between James and Sirius. Peter sat down by the door leaving the other two seats for Kaelin and Remus who were standing in the doorway.

The train pulled away from the station, and for the next few hours we talked and laughed. We didn't realize how loud we were being until Lily Evans, the head girl, told us to be quiet. This started James on a conversation about Lily. I leaned back against Sirius and listened to James's rambling. "Do you think she'll ever go out with me?" James asked.

"Maybe if you stop asking her out every hour," Kaelin said. She had her head resting against Remus who looked happier than I'd seen him in a while. The full moon was hard on him I knew.

"If I don't ask her out, how will she ever say yes?" James complained. Peter was snacking on chocolate frogs oblivious to anything going on around him.

"Give her a break Prongs. Let her come to you," I said yawning. It was getting late, and I was extremely tired. James didn't say anything, and I knew he'd never thought of that before. The train was silent now, and it wasn't long before I fell asleep.

Sirius

After Sam fell asleep, it was only a few minutes before everyone else did too. Soon I was the only one awake watching the trees rush past out the window. Peter's snoring was loud enough to keep me up the whole time. He was littered with candy wrappers, and I laughed to myself. Sam's hair had fallen onto her face, and I brushed it back careful not to wake her up.

After what seemed like minutes, but was really a few hours, the train came to a stop. Just the force was enough to wake James and Remus up. James then proceeded to knock Peter off the seat. The sound was enough to wake the dead, and Sam sat up groggily asking where we were. I laughed reminding her we were on the Hogwarts Express.

It took all five of us to wake Kaelin, who could sleep through a Death Eater attack. She lashed out in surprise smacking Sam in the face. We all laughed, and Kaelin apologized over and over. We got our stuff and left the train excited and ready for our final year at Hogwarts.


	3. Chapter 2

I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>Sam<p>

"Go out with me Evans?" James asked Lily for the third time since we'd gotten off the train.

"You wish," Lily responded sighing.

"Yes, I do. You know, seeing as I'm headboy, and you're headgirl, we should be spending quite a lot of time together this year. It's only a matter of time before you realize how exceedingly handsome I am and fall in love with me," James said smirking.

Lily rolled her eyes. "In your dreams Potter," she walked off without another word, but James was not to be discouraged.

He turned to the rest of us saying, "She'll realize it sooner or later." We all tried to hide our laughter.

"Prongs, the day Lily Evans says yes to you, will be the day the world ends," I said ducking behind Sirius before James could realize what I'd just said. He frowned slightly.

"We'll see about that," he said.

"Only one problem Prongsy," Sirius said. "You're not exceedingly handsome. That role is reserved for another."

"And who would that be? Wormtail?" James said. Peter did his best to look upset, but he ended up laughing.

"Oh you know who," Sirius said.

"You think Voldemort is better looking than me?" James cried staring at Sirius in horror. Sirius just sighed.

We all clambered into the last carriage, and I knew the whole ride would be filled with James and Sirius fighting over who was better looking.

"It's obvious I'm better looking! Ask Sam!" Sirius cried.

"Sam will just take your side like always!" James protested. That wasn't true, but I didn't interrupt.

"Then ask Kaelin!" Sirius reasoned.

"Fine. Kaelin which one of us is exceedingly handsome?" James asked.

"Oh stop it. You're both ugly!" she said causing James and Sirius to stare at her with shocked looks. Neither one of them was expecting that. The rest of the ride was silence for the first time in Marauder history.

"Think I should tell them I was just kidding?" Kaelin whispered to me when we got off at the castle. I shook my head still laughing as we watched James and Sirius sulking towards the castle.

"Nah, let them suffer. They deserved it," I said.

Remus came over then and said, "How long do you think they'll be like this?"

"They'll have forgotten all about it by the time the sorting starts," I said. Indeed, the moment we walked through the big oak doors, Sirius and James were smiling again. Probably planning their first prank. We sat down right as the doors opened again revealing all the first years.

They looked terrified, and I remembered my first day. I didn't have time to worry as I had to calm Sirius down who thought for sure he was going to be put in Slytherin. When it came his turn, he was white as a sheet, but when the hat said Gryffindor, he smiled. I'd already been sorted, and he joined me.

"Hey, Kaelin isn't that your brother?" I asked pointing to a little boy with light brown hair. She nodded watching him. He could've been Kaelin's twin if not for the six year difference. He was among the last to be sorted, and when the hat called out Ravenclaw to a little girl, Mcgonagall called his name.

"Matthew Thomas!" the little boy stepped forward looking scared. He looked over at Kaelin and I, and we smiled. The sorting hat was placed on his head, and not a minute later, it had shouted GRYFFINDOR! Everyone clapped as Matt walked over to our table. He between me and another first year girl.

"Great job Matt!" Kaelin said. Sirius and James made a big show of shaking his hand, and I remembered Matt had never met them. He'd only met me when I spent two weeks at Kaelin's one summer.

"Matt, this is Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus," I said. Matt smiled.

"I know you guys! You're the marauders!" he said excitedly. The four boys beamed at the fact they were so well known. "Kaelin talks about you a lot, Remus." Kaelin turned bright red at this and glared at her brother. He returned the look with a look of innocence. Remus was blushing too, but he just laughed it off. Sirius and James exchanged looks and then looked at me. I knew what they were thinking.

"So, what's our plans for this year?" I asked, and again Sirius and James exchanged looks.

"Pull the greatest prank ever, and get Lily to go out with me," James said. I rolled my eyes.

"Ok, and how do you propose to do that?" Kaelin said trying to forget what just happened.

"I have my ways," he said.

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, and that's worked so well hasn't it?" he said earning a glare from James. I sighed. Would they never stop fighting?

"HeyProngs," Remus said. "Have you ever though maybe she really doesn't like you?"

"Nope, she's in love with me! She just won't admit it!" he said joyfully. This earned him a slap from Lily who had heard him.

"I most certainly am not!" she said. I laughed at James' shocked expression when he realized she was standing right there. The rest of dinner went much the same, and it wasn't long before we were heading up to the common room. As it was around midnight, and we had classes tomorrow, we all went right to bed.

I sat on my bed watching Kaelin brush her teeth. "So Kaelin," I said smirking. "What's all this Remus talk?" She jumped about a foot in the air and gasped. She finished brushing her teeth before she answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said sitting down on her bed.

"Oh really?" I said. She was turning bright red again.

"Yes really!," she said. Then she smiled evilly. "How about you and Sirius?" I started laughing and fell off the bed hitting the ground hard thankfully we were the only ones in the room.

Until Lily walked in. "Why are you on the floor?" she asked amused.

"Oh, she's just realizing her hidden feelings for Sirius Black," Kaelin said.

"I do not like Sirius!" I cried tackling Kaelin pulling her onto the floor with me. "He's my best friend!" Lily raised her eyebrows.

"I for one, agree with Kaelin," Lily said. I glared at them both.

"I don't like him!" I said. "But you can't deny you like Remus," I said to Kaelin. She was blushing furiously again.

"I do not!" she said.

"When will you realize you do?" Lily said. "It's obvious!" Kaelin shook her head.

"No," she said stubbornly. I sighed and got into bed still laughing.


	4. Chapter 3

Still don't own Harry Potter...

Sirius

The girls went to their room the moment we reached the common room. They looked exhausted from the day's events. The common room was empty when I flopped onto the couch by the fire. It was only midnight. No reason to go to bed. James seemed to have the same thoughts as I did, and he sat down beside me. Peter went to bed. No surprise there, leaving Remus with the big plushy chair.

"Our last year at Hogwarts," I said, still not fully believing it. Hogwarts was my home. I never really thought of the house of Black as my home. Until I came to Hogwarts, I didn't know what home meant. Now, I was my last year here.

"Hard to believe isn't it?" James said looking slightly downcast. Hogwarts was where we met. Where we became best friends. We had so many memories here.

"Guess we'll have to make it count," Remus said. I let his words sink in for a moment before smiling at him.

"You're going to finally ask Kaelin out then Moony?" I said grinning. He turned bright red and wouldn't look at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled. I didn't believe him, and from the look on James' face, neither did he. We'd both known for a while now that Remus liked Kaelin as more than just a friend, but he wouldn't admit it.

"You can't lie to us, Moony!" James teased. Remus tried to ignore us, but I threw a pillow at his head. He glared at me, and I smiled innocently.

"Come on! Just admit it!" James said. Remus shook his head unconvincingly. I looked at James who was grinning. We had one last chance.

"Moony, how would you like to be on the receiving end of one of our pranks?" I asked menacingly. It didn't faze him at first.

"You couldn't do it without me. You're not smart enough!" he countered. I raised my eyebrows. Oh really?

"You know. Sam and Kaelin are pretty smart. I bet if they helped, we could pull it off," James said. Now Remus looked scared. He hesitated before replying.

"You wouldn't," he said.

"Oh. We would. Hey Prongs. We should take his chocolate!" I said. Remus paled. If it was one thing he never let anyone anywhere near, it was his chocolate. I knew we'd gotten him now.

"Fine! I like Kaelin! Just don't take my chocolate!" he cried. I smiled.

"Moony, Moony, Moony. Did you honestly think we really would? We definitely don't want your wrath!" I said laughing. We would never dream of taking his chocolate. Not since the time I tried and ended up in the hospital wing for a week. That was second year. Never again will I come between my friend and his chocolate.

"But thank you for finally admitting your love for Kaelin!" James piped up. Remus looked very unhappy.

"If you tell her-" he warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it Moony!" James chimed.

"Padfoot?" Remus turned his death glare onto me.

"My lips are sealed!" I said smiling. Remus relaxed a little. Soon afterwards, we too went to bed, and Remus made a point of not talking to us. He did seem a little happier having told us his big "secret", which wasn't really a secret anyways.

Sam The next morning, I woke Kaelin up early much to her distaste. Lily was still asleep, so I tried to be quiet as I took a shower and got ready. Kaelin, however, accidently dropped her entire trunk off her bed succeeding in waking up the entire castle. I shook my head laughing as Kaelin hid using me as protection from Lily. The boys were already downstairs by the time we finally got downstairs. Kaelin had to be the slowest person in the entire world.

Sirius had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for us. No doubt he'd been up late last night. I put a finger to my lips warning the others not to wake him up as I crept over. I waited to make sure he really was asleep, and when I heard his soft snores, I pounced. He jumped up falling to the floor, and letting out a few choice words, then seeing me he stopped. He knew how much I hated cussing and made an effort to stop around me.

"Sam!" he cried. I laughed.

"Yes, Padfoot?" I asked innocently. He tried to pretend to be mad, but failed miserably. A smile played on his lips as he scolded me.

"Don't do that!" he said.

"You're the one who fell asleep!" I said laughing. He frowned.

"You were taking too long!" he whined. I sighed.

"Blame Kaelin!" I said laughing when Kaelin hit me.

"What?" I asked innocently. She just laughed. I helped Sirius up off the ground rolling my eyes. James and Remus just watched the whole ideal in amusement.

We got down to breakfast later than we had hoped. We had planned to get there early so as to avoid Severus. He wasn't too happy with Sirius and James after their little fight on the train.

We ate in record time only having to wait about ten minutes for Kaelin to finish. We were the first ones in transfiguration for what must have been the first time in all our years at Hogwarts. Most people would expect Mcgonegall to be shocked, but she just pursed her lips and went back to whatever it was she was doing. She probably assumed we were up to something.

I remembered my late night conversation with Kaelin and devised a plan. I grabbed Sirius before he could sit with James and instructed James to sit with Peter. He didn't seem too happy, but Peter and I didn't exactly get along. Remus was left with no choice but to sit with Kaelin.

Kaelin knew exactly what I was doing and shot a glare at me, but looking pleased all the same. Remus was glaring at Sirius who just smiled innocently pointing to me. I grinned waving dramatically. Remus turned his glare on me, but I could see the enjoyment in his eyes.

The rest of the class began filing in each looking shocked to see us here before them. Lily came in last looking slightly disheveled. She flopped down beside a Ravenclaw boy I didn't know and looked at Mcgonagall expectantly. Mcgonnagal didn't seem fazed by Lily's obvious unhappiness, or the fact that Remus and Kaelin could hardly keep from staring at each other. She went on teaching as if nothing had changed.

On this particular day, we would be changing animals into water goblets. I pretended to take notes while silently daydreaming about nothing in particular. It was when Mcgonnagal asked us to try it for ourselves that my head snapped up and she had my full attention. Transfiguration was my absolute worst subject. I was worse than Peter and always had to get help from James or Sirius on my homework.

There was no way I could do a spell this complicated. I stood up determined to get it right, holding my wand tightly. The lizard in front of me lashed its tongue. I waved my wand slowly saying the spell exactly right. Nothing happened. I didn't really expect it to, but I was still disappointed.

I tried countless times each attempt futile. I could not figure out what I as doing wrong! After probably my tenth try, Sirius laughed watching me as I jabbed my wand angrily at the lizard.

"Need some help?" he asked giving that world famous grin of his. After knowing him for over seven years, I'd grown immune to it and merely nodded glaring at the lizard. My gaze was met with a look of defiance. It seemed like the lizard was giving me a staring contest! I shook my head. I was going mental. Sirius took my wand and pointed at the lizard.

"Watch me," he said flourishing his wand slowly so as I could see what he was doing. He succeeded in changing the lizard to a water goblet and back in about ten seconds.

"Now you try." I took my wand and did exactly what he did. At least I thought I did. I managed to shoot red sparks out of the end, but the lizard was still a lizard. I sighed.

"What am I doing wrong?" I said exasperated. Sirius just calmly put his hand over mine moving my wand slowly. For some reason, this sent butterflies doing summersaults in my stomach. I ignored the feeling concentrating on getting the spell right. I tried again, and to my amazement, a water goblet took the place of the evil lizard!

I was so excited I jumped on Sirius hugging him. When I let go, he was grinning, and I noticed the whole room staring at us. I blushed ducking my head. Kaelin was shooting glances at me, but I ignored her. Soon, the lesson was over to my relief and I ignored Kaelin's smirks as I packed my stuff up. She'd never let this go.

I didn't understand all the butterflies. It wasn't the first time Sirius had helped me in transfiguration. What was so different about this time? Could Kaelin be right? Could I really be falling for Sirius? I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind as I followed my friends to Potions. Sirius was my best friend. I want any of that to change.


	5. Chapter 4

Sirius

We walked from Transfiguration to Potions, and I couldn't help but remember the feeling I got when I was helping Sam. When I touched her, it felt like an electric shock went through my body. It wasn't a bad feeling, in fact, it felt good. I didn't understand where it had come from. I almost always had to help Sam in that class, but this time was different. Wen she finished the spell, I noticed the whole room watching us, but I didn't care. Her blue eyes shining with delight made it impossible for me not to smile.

All this went through my head over and over as we walked into potions. The look she got in her eyes when she was frustrated, the feel of her soft hand, the way her hair whipped around her face when she turned. What was happening to me? The more I thought about it the more I realized the truth, but I found it harder and harder to believe.

"Padfoot!" James' loud voice interrupted my thoughts and I noticed the whole class staring at me. I stood by Slughorn's desk alone while everyone else had gotten into the pairs Slughorn had prepared.

"What?" I asked confused.

"You're partner is Kaelin, Mr. Black," Slughorn said obviously annoyed. I shook my head slightly before joining Kaelin at our cauldron. She looked at me quizzically, but didn't ask as Slughorn still talked. "Today, we will be making Draught of Living Death-"

I didn't hear the rest as my mind had started to wander again. I couldn't get my mind off Sam. I knew exactly what had happened, but i couldn't admit it to myself. Kaelin slapped me . . . hard. "Ow!" I cried rubbing my cheek where I was sure there was a red handprint.

"Sorry. You were off in your own little world again," she said though she didn't look the least bit sorry. "What's up with you?" I debated on telling her, but decided to wait until I was sure myself.

"Nothing. Just tired,' I said unconvincingly. I knew she didn't believe me, but she didn't say a word as she turned back to our potion. This was going to be a long day.

Sam

The walk to potions was uneventful. James watched Lily walk in front of us while Peter tried to get Remus to run into something. Amazingly, Remus could read a book and walk at the same time managing to avoid every trap Peter set for him. Kaelin watched this amused. Nothing was different from usual. Except for Sirius. He walked slowly hardly paying attention to anything going on around him, and he seemed deep in thought. That was strange for him. Sirius was the kind of guy who constantly seemed to be on sugar-high, always laughing at something or messing with us. He had never been quiet for as long as I'd known him. What could be so amazing as to silence him for the entire walk?

When we reached the dungeons, Professor Slughorn called us over to his desk. "I have your partners for today chosen already," he said causing everyone to groan. I had expected it. Ever since James and Sirius had managed to ruin his precious crystalized pineapple, Slughorn had been too scared to let them work together again. He proceeded to call names off a long list in his hands. "Mr. Potter with Lily."

"YES!" James jumped in the air looking happier than I'd ever seen him. Lily looked furious, but moved her stuff over to where James had sat down.

Slughorn acted as though James hadn't spoken. " Samantha and Remus. Peter and Severus," he droned on and on. I took my seat next to Remus relieved to be able to work with one of my friends. "Mr. Black and Kaelin," Slughorn said finally. Sirius didn't seem to notice he'd been called and still stood there with that concentrating look on his face oblivious to the world.

"Padfoot!" James' yell seemed to startle Sirius, and he seemed confused for a moment. Once he realized where he was, Slughorn firmly told him to go sit with Kaelin. He did without hesitation.

Slughorn began telling us what we were supposed to brewing, but Sirius seemed to have blanked out again. What was bothering him? I made a mental note to ask him after class. I turned back to Remus and was about to ask him what we were supposed to be doing as I hadn't been listening when I head a loud slap and Sirius' yell. I spun around to see a small handprint on the side of his face from where Kaelin had smacked him. She was apologizing, but she didn't look very convincing.

"What's up with Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"I don't know. I was going to ask you the same thing," I said then remembered my question. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

"Draught of Living Death," he said pointing to the page in his textbook. The potion looked extremely complicated.

A laugh from across he room turned everyone's head, and I was shocked to see it was lily. Lily Evans was laughing with James. What had the world come to? I knew I'd never hear the end of it from James tonight.

I picked up the large brown nut we were supposed to cut, and put it under the blade of my knife. I'd barely touched it when the nut shot out hitting the ceiling before dropping back down and hitting me in the head.

I expected Remus to laugh but noticed he wasn't paying attention. He had a look similar to Sirius' on his face. "Moony?" I asked. He snapped his head up.

"What?" he asked innocently. Ok something was definitely on his mind, and I intended to find out what.

"You were out of it. What's on your mind?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said unconvincingly.

"Remus Lupin don't you lie to me!" I said. He knew I was serious as I never used any of my friends' real names unless it was important.

"Promise you won't tell?" he said. I nodded.

"Promise!"

"Ok fine. I told James and Sirius, so I might as well tell you," he said. "It's-" he cut off.

"You can tell me," I said encouraging him to keep talking.

"Ok fine. I like Kaelin. As more than a friend," he said. I grinned at him. I knew this already of course, but now he had officially told me.

"That's great! Are you gonna ask her out? Please tell me you are!" I screeched trying to keep my voice down.

"No!" he cried louder than he had meant to, but not attracting any attention.

"Why not? I know she likes you too!" I said. He stopped.

"What?" he said disbelievingly.

"She likes you. I can see it in her eyes whenever she's around you. Her whole face lights up!" I explained.

"Really?" he asked. I could tell how happy this made him, and I knew I was getting through. I could only hope he'd actually take the words to heart. He could be really shy sometimes even around us.

"Yes really! You have to ask her out!" I said.

"I-I don't know," he stammered. This was not the Remus I knew. Remus was usually confident and the one telling the rest of us what to do. I didn't blame him though. Kaelin had a knack for charming boys and making them into totally different people. If she wasn't muggle born, I'd swear she was a veela.

"Moony. Trust me," I said turning back to our potion. he didn't answer, and when I looked up he was watching Kaelin intently as if trying to decide. I smiled knowing i'd gotten through. He may or may not ask her anytime soon, but he was thinking about it now, and that was a start.


	6. Chapter 5

Sam

The end of summer is apparent as we walk across the shadowed grounds towards the forbidden forest. It's cooler out than it had been in awhile. A slight breeze rustles the trees and makes me shiver. Tonight is the night I've been waiting so long for. We all have. The excitement is clearly written on both Kaelin's face and mine. Tonight, we become animagi.

Sirius has been quiet all day. Hardly saying a word, but the moment he transforms into his animagus form he's back to his old self. Wagging his tail and licking my face just like always. Nights like these will always hold fast in my memories.

Remus walks with Kaelin and I as it isn't a full moon. He's here for support just like the others. Peter rides on Sirius' back while James walks beside them. Even as a rat, the look of fright is clear on Peter's face as Sirius bounces up and down eagerly.

We've just reached the clearing inside the forbidden forest when the three boys transform into their old selves. "You ready?" James asks. Kaelin nods happily, and I just grin. "You're sure you want to do this? It is illegal and extremely dangerous."

I roll my eyes. "We know the risks James. We want to do this," I say.

"For Moony," Kaelin adds. Remus looks overjoyed at her statement, and I remember our earlier conversation in potions.

"Just checking. Now this is a mind and body transformation. You have to concentrate and not be distracted or it could go terribly wrong," James says. We've heard this speech a million times since we decided to become animagi, but we simply nodded in understanding.

"Like turning into half an animal forever! Could you imagine Sam or Kaelin with a tail?" he states to Remus. We all laugh. It's so good to have normal Sirius back.

Remus pulls two small bottles out of his pocket handing one to Kaelin and the other to me. "This will help with the concentration," he says. Kaelin puts the bottle to her lips and swallows. I do the same.

"When Padfoot cast the spell make sure you are paying attention to every detail around you. If you lose concentration for even a second, you may not be able to transform back," James warns. I nod.

"I'll go first," I say bravely. Kaelin nods looking slightly frightened. Surprisingly, Remus puts his arm around her. I can't help but smile for a moment.

I take a deep breath and focus all my thoughts onto the transformation. Sirius raises his wand slowly, and when I nod he says something I don't quiet catch. I close my eyes feeling my senses sharpen. I can feel myself transforming. The world seems clearer. I can hear footprints on the leaves, and smell a small fire from somewhere. I'm shrinking, growing claws.

The feeling stops. I blink my eyes open, and though it is dark out I can see perfectly fine. Sirius and James stand to one side watching me with smiles, and Kaelin looks on gaping. I try to speak, but a squeaky noise escapes my lips.

My friends burst into laughter, and Sirius is even on the ground rolling around. I growl at them, sort of, and they stop. Sirius picks me up stroking my ears. I have to admit it feels good, and I lean into his hand begging for more and wrapping my tail up around my body.

All too soon, he puts me back down, and I'm transforming back. I stand in the middle of my circle of friends all beaming at me. "That was the fastest transformation I've ever seen!" Peter exclaims.

"A cat?" Sirius says. "You're a cat?" he seems to be trying to hold back his laughter. I have to admit I had expected something a little different. A cat doesn't fit me very well, I think.

"What's wrong with a cat? Is it because cats are smarter than dogs?" I say causing everyone but Sirius to laugh. Sirius glares at me before turning into his animagus form and jumping up knocking me over and licking my face. "Ok! I'm sorry! Let me up!" I screech, and soon he climbs off me turning back into Sirius and extending his hand.

I take it trying to ignore the electric shocks going up my arm as he pulls me to my feet. His eyes bore into mine as if he's searching for something, and I turn away letting go of his hand feeling my face turn slightly red.

"My turn!" Kaelin yells, and I'm grateful for the distraction. Kaelin dashes to the center of the circle and closes her eyes. After a few minutes of relaxed breathing, she says she's ready.

Remus lifts his wand to cast the spell, and Kaelin is still. Nothing happens. I hold my breath waiting, but Kaelin doesn't change. I can tell she is getting frustrated, and I will her to stay calm.

She snaps her eyes open. "It didn't work!" she cries, but she'd hardly gets the words out of her mouth before she starts to shrink. Her skin slowly starts to bubble turning into feathers, and in her place is a tiny blue jay. If birds could smile, she'd be grinning right now.

We all watch as Kaelin flaps her wings in a desperate attempt to get off the ground, but she doesn't stay air born for more than a few seconds. After her fifth attempt, she gives up transforming back into her old self. "Why can't I fly?" she whines.

Remus laughs. "I'm sure it just takes practice," he says.

"That or you're too fat to get off the ground," Sirius says ducking when Kaelin tries to smack him. "Kidding!"

"Now that we're all animagi, they need nicknames!" James says. I frown.

"I don't want one," I say. Kaelin nods in agreement.

"I don't either. Can we just keep our names?" she asks. Sirius looks unhappy.

"I wanted to pick the names!" he whines.

"That settles it. I'm definitely not letting Padfoot choose my name," I say. His face falls, but in a second he's back to his hyper self.

"When's our next adventure?" he asks.

"Full moon. Two weeks," Remus says looking slightly pale. I could only imagine what he went through on those nights.

"Well I'm tired. I'm going to bed," Kaelin says yawning. The walk to the castle seems like forever, and the moment I reach my bed, I collapse. I was asleep within seconds.


	7. Chapter 6

Sirius

I couldn't keep my eyes off Sam the entire night. I don't know what it is, but she's changed since last year. I know James noticed because he kept shooting me suspicious glances. I'm surprised he hasn't brought it up yet. It's coming I know. I'll be answering his questions soon. It would be hard to answer about things I'm not even sure of myself yet. Why do things have to be so complicated?

James is sitting on his bed playing with one of his snitches. I sigh. Does he ever do anything else? Remus is reading as usual, and Peter is snoring. I sit up looking around the room bored out of my mind. The bed squeaks slightly, and James suddenly sits up bolt right.

"Padfoot?" he asks. I sigh. Here we go.

"Yes Prongs?" I say as casually as I can, which in my head is not very casual at all. James' outburst got Remus' attention, and he's now watching us intently.

"I have a question," he asks. Was he really going to drag this on as long as possible?

"Ok," I say.

"Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" he asks seriously. I almost burst out laughing. It sounded like I was in court! I don't though because the question scares me. I'd come up with that a long time ago when I decided we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. That was right after we found out Remus was a werewolf. If you don't answer truthfully, a spell was cast that forces the truth out of you.

"I-I guess," I say somewhat uncertainly. James seems to take my answer as a yes.

"Do you like Sam?" he asks looking right at me. I bite my lip hesitating, but knowing if I don't answer soon, the spell will take effect.

"Yes," I whisper so softly I can barely hear myself. That one word puts everything into reality. I never really admitted it even to myself until just now, but I had no doubts now.

James smiles in his knowing way. "Told you Moony," he says holding out his hand. Grumbling, Remus gives him two galleons. I stare at them.

"You were betting on me?" I say shocked. No, I'm not really shocked. I almost expected it.

"Yes. Now we're going to work on you asking her out," James says grinning evily. Wait. What? Asking Sam out? No. No way. Not happening.

"No no no," I say quickly.

"Why not?" Remus asks innocently.

"Why won't you ask Kaelin out!" I snap, and he shuts up looking at the floor.

"I never thought I'd say this," James starts. "But are my two best friends really going to let the girls they've known since 1st year be taken by some other guy?"

That puts things in perspective. Some other guy? Now that I think about it, they have been catching the eyes of most of the school population lately. Remus must be thinking the same thing because he's silent.

"That's what I thought," James says. "Now Padfoot. You're going to go talk to Kaelin. She's the best at this kind of advice thing. Moony, you will talk to Sam."

"I don't want to talk to Kaelin! She's scary!" I cry. It was true, plus I really didn't want to get slapped again. Too late, I notice the door is open. A slightly angry Kaelin stands there.

"You think I'm scary?" she asks. I nod. "I'm not scary!" She sound slightly upset.

"Ok! Not scary! Nope, not you!" I say covering up my mistake. "Wait, what are you doing here anyways?"

"I came to get my book back from Moony," she says slightly blushing. Remus picks a book up from his nightstand and throws it to her. She catches it clumsily, but doesn't drop it.  
>"Exactly how much did you hear?" Remus asks hesitantly. She pauses.<p>

"Something about Padfoot talking to me and thinking I'm scary," she says. Remus looks relieved. "So Padfoot? What did you want to talk to me about?" she asks.

"Nothing!" I say quickly. She raises an eyebrow. James smirks.

"Go ahead Padfoot, tell her!" he says. I shake my head. "Fine then, I will. Padfoot here has a crush on Sam!"

"No!" I say at the same time Kaelin shrieks, "I knew it!"

"Padfoot, don't lie." Remus says. I glare at him.

"Do you really?" she asks looking excited. I hesitate. She could very well go wake Sam up right now and tell her. I don't think she would though, so I nod slightly not looking at her.

"Great! I know she likes you too! When are you gonna ask her out?" she's talking so fast I can barely hear her.

"Never!" I say forcefully. Apparently not forcefully enough.

"Padfoot is scared to ask a girl out? What has the world come to?" James says in mock horror. I glare at him too.

"Padfoot, why not?" Kaelin asks sitting down on my bed. I don't answer. I don't even know myself really.

"I don't know," I mumble.

"You don't know!" Padfoot! Man up and ask her out before some other guy does!" she cries. That shakes some sense into me. Another guy?

"Another guy?" I say horrified.

"Yes another guy. In case you haven't noticed, Sam's a lot different this year,' she says. Oh I've noticed all right. "Guys have been staring at her since we got on the train!" They have? What!

"No," I say stubbornly. Kaelin shakes her head getting up.

"Ok fine, but when you miss your chance with her, don't come crying to me." She says leaving the room. I groan falling back onto my bed. Why can't things ever be easy?


	8. Chapter 7

Sam

It's been three weeks since Kaelin and I became animagi. Tomorrow night will be our first full moon. Kaelin and I are excited, but Kaelin seems nervous as well. Even though she won't admit it, she's scared to see Remus in so much pain. Remus is convinced he is going to hurt us, and nothing we say can change his mind.

It's chilly out, but that didn't stop the boys from dragging us outside. Christmas is only a month away, and Hogwarts is getting in the spirit. It's lightly snowing outside, but not enough to stick to the ground just yet. Kaelin and I sit underneath a big oak tree trying not to freeze while the boys are on the dock by the lake doing who knows what.

Kaelin talks a mile a minute about something or another, but I'm not listening. I can hardly tear my eyes away from Sirius. He looks over at me holding my gaze for a few seconds. He's laughing. His smile is amazing. I find myself smiling too. When he turns away, I want to run over to him just to see his smile once more.

"Sam!" Kaelin yells drawing the attention of just about everyone at Hogwarts. "Sam!" she whispers more quietly. I glance around, but the few people who are outside are no longer paying attention to us.

"Yes Kaelin?" I ask afraid of what she wants. It's never good when you don't pay attention to Kaelin. She gets upset and reprimands you for days.

"You weren't listening to me!" she says frowning. Lowering her voice considerably she adds, "You were too busy staring at Padfoot!"

"Wha-I was not!" I reply. Great, she noticed. I hadn't meant to fall for him, I really didn't. It just sort of happened. I remember the night I realized it myself clearly. It wasn't a sort of our eyes met and I just knew sort of thing. It was a bit of a shock really. I just realized I thought of him differently then I had before. It took a few days before I actually realized what this meant.

"Yes you were. Just admit it Sam. You like him," she says. I hesitate. I'd been meaning to tell her ever since I'd figured it out myself, but I just kept pushing it away. Now was my chance.

"Alright fine. I've fallen for my best friend," I say quietly. "And I don't know what to do."

Kaelin's eyes widen. "Ask him out!" she cries.

"NO!" I say much louder than I had intended. Thankfully, no one noticed. "No way Kaelin."

"Why not?" she asks. Does she really not understand? I glare at her and she shuts her mouth quickly. "What about the Christmas Ball next week? You could ask him to that."

"No. He'd just laugh at me," I say stubbornly. Kaelin sighs.

"No he won't Sammi," she says. I don't answer. He probably would. He probably already had a date knowing Sirius.

"Well, I'm glad you've finally admitted to liking him, and I really think you should ask him," she says getting up. "I've got to go study for DADA. Wanna come?"

I shake my head. "No. I've got to talk to someone," I say. An idea was quickly forming in my head. Kaelin nods as she heads up towards the castle.

I smile as I head over to the boys ready to set forth with my plan. "Hey guys," I say when I reach them. They're laughing over something, but shut up when they see me. They look extremely guilty, and I suppose it has something to do with the fact that Peter was now pulling himself out of the frozen lake, but I didn't have time to worry about that.

"Hey Sam," Sirius says giving me his lopsided grin. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, but ignore it focusing on what I came over here for.

"Did Kaelin tell you about the Christmas Ball next weekend?" I ask casually. They shake their heads. "She's really excited about it."

"You think Lily would go with me?" James interrupts. Leave it to James to turn every conversation to Lily Evans.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't chance it. She actually doesn't hate you right now," I say. It's true. One could almost call them friends. James nods looking slightly disappointed, but not like he's going to ask her. He's really grown up a lot this year. I hope Lily notices.

"I came over here to tell Moony something," I say. I see a flicker of sadness in Sirius' eyes, but it's gone before I can be sure. Ignoring it, I look at Remus. He's waiting for me to tell him.

"I really think you should ask Kaelin to the ball. It would make her so happy, and I know you want to," I say. He looks stunned, but I continue. "Moony, you can't wait forever. Haven't you noticed how that Slytherin guy in our year looks at her? Do you really want to lose her to some Slytherin?"

"I-What if she says no?" he stutters. He looks truly scared.

"She won't," Sirius says before I can say the exact same thing. "Ask her Moony. If you don't I'll have to do it for you!" he warns. Remus' eyes widen.

"But-" he starts.

"No buts, Moony. Ask her. She's in the library. We can come if you want," I say. He nods slightly.

"Right now?" he says. I nod.

"Now," I say.

"But-"

"Moony! Just ask her!" James says. "It's not that hard! I do it all the time!"

"Yeah and look how well that's turned out for you!" Remus says. I laugh.

"Moony just don't act like Prongs and you'll be fine," I assure him.

"I-I can't," he says.

"We warned you," Sirius says pushing Remus up towards the castle. Remus looks frightened and Sirius looks distracted, but all I can think of is Kaelin's face when she finds out what I did.

It takes a lot of coaxing, but finally we convince Remus to go into the library. He's still protesting when he walks over to Kaelin. James has his invisibility cloak, and he slips it over both of us. Sirius can't fit under it with us, so he stays behind the bookshelf.

We get right up to the table where we can hear Kaelin and Remus talking. "Hey Remus!" Kaelin says looking slightly surprised but pleased all the same.

"Hey," Remus looks terrified, and I hope he doesn't back out now. Kaelin continues to work on what ever she's doing.

"We've got a huge test in DADA tomorrow, and I still don't understand this," she whines.

"Need some help?" Remus offers. I look at James. We're both waiting for him to ask her, but it looks like he won't just yet. Sirius is just barely seen behind one of the bookshelves peering over at us.

I motion for James to get a little farther away from the table, so Kaelin and Remus don't hear us. Once we're a safe distance away, I listen again. Remus is helping Kaelin with her work, and he looks much more comfortable then when he first sat down.

I can't help but wish Sirius would ask me to the ball. Thinking about it almost makes me laugh. Sirius would never ask me. "Sam? You okay?" James whispers. I must have dazed off.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, then thinking about it for a minute, I whisper, "Hey James?"

"Yeah?" he's looking at me now.

"Can I ask you something?" No going back now. I had to ask him.

"Sure," he says.

I take a deep breath. I'd never dreamed I'd tell James this, but here I was, and now I had no choice. "What do you do if you've fallen for your best friend, but it seems silly that they would ever like you back?" I ask.

"We're talking about Sirius aren't we?" he says knowingly. I hesitate a minute, then nod slowly. He smiles. "Well, it's not silly to think he could like you back because he does. A lot more than he cares to admit." I'm shocked. Sirius likes me? Is James joking?

"Wha-" I start then stop. "What do I do?" I whisper.

He smiles. "Tell him. He won't do it himself, so you have to make the first move," he says. Me!

"Me?" I breathe terrified. "But-"

"Now you sound like Moony. Sam, last night I woke up to the sound of Sirius talking. I got up, and he was mumbling in his sleep. He was talking about you. He really likes you Sam. Maybe even loves you," James says sincerely. I'm shocked. Does he really? Sirius was talking about me in his sleep?

"I-I can't James," I say. He nods.

"You don't have to. Not yet anyways, but I'm sure everything will work out. I've never know Padfoot to keep quiet about a girl for long," he says smirking. I smile.

"Thanks James,"

"No problem," We turn back to Kaelin and Remus.

"Thank you so much Moony. Oh did you want something?" she asks. Remus freezes. Eyes wide, I mentally coax him to ask her.

"Oh, erm, yes actually. I-I was wondering if-would you," he stops. Come on Remus! "He sighs. "Kaelin, would you like to go to the Christmas Ball with me?"

I've never seen Kaelin's face light up the way it does at this moment. She grins happily with her eyes wide. "I'd love to," she says, and I'm mentally cheering inside my head.

Remus grins as they leave the library. Two of my best friends were now happier than I'd ever seen them. I turn to James smiling, and he's grinning as well. Sirius is wathing with a smirk on his face from his hiding spot. Now that Remus and Kaelin were done, I only had one thing to worry about. Sirius Black.


	9. Chapter 8

Sirius

Moony did it. He finally asked Kaelin out like I know he's been wanting to for years. He hardly leaves her side now. Sam goes on an on about how "cute" they are together. James and I go along with it.

It's the full moon tonight, and Remus is unnaturally pale. I know he's scared he'll hurt Kaelin or Sam, and he's tried to convince them to stay behind. Does he really think that'll work? Sam is one of the most stubborn people I know.

Sam. Where do I start? James has been hounding me for not asking her to this stupid ball. I've been beating myself up about it as well. I don't know what's holding me back. I want to ask her more than anything, but every time I come close, I just can't do it.

I know a few people have asked her already and that she's turned them all down, but she won't say no to everyone. Some guy is going to ask her before I work up the nerve and she's going to say yes. I don't have forever to make up my mind.

Kaelin begs me to ask her, and I honestly don't know what's stopping me. We're alone. The common room is empty except for Sam and I. This isn't unusual. Hardly anyone comes here at this time of day. In a few hous, when people start to show up, we'll be in the shrieking shack.

Sam's doing her homework. Charms I think. I'd help her, but I'm worse than she is at that useless subject. I don't know where the others are, but if they were here I'd be slapped a few times for not asking her out already.

I sit on the couch beside her watching. Just watching. Neither of us says anything while she works. The look of concentration on her face is apparent. The way her jaw tightens when she can't figure out the answer, or the way she sighs in defeat every few minutes. How she brushes her soft blonde hair away from her eyes. I take in every detail not wanting to miss a thing. Her bright blue eyes look into mine when she feels me staring at her. I hold her gaze until she turns away once more. I sigh quietly.

I can't help but wonder what she's thinking at this moment. Probably about her charms homework, but I wish it was me on her mind. Since when was I afraid to ask a girl out? I'd never hesitated and probably have had more girlfriends then James, Remus, and Peter combined.

A noise on the stairs makes us both turn around. A figure stands in the shadows watching us. I blink wondering who it could possibly be when suddenly Sam stands up. I watch from my spot on the couch while she walks towards the figure. She says something I can't quite make out.

I strain my ears to hear what he says. "I had to ask. Will you go with me to the Ball?" I want to scream. I want to rush over there and knock out whomever this guys is, but I don't. Instead I watch quietly as Sam turns to me with a sad expression on her face before turning back to the guy.

"Jase," she whispers. "I'd love to." With those few simple words, my world comes crashing down. I pretend I don't notice them, that I haven't heard a word, but inside the fury rages like a fire.

I stand up not exactly sure what I'm going to do, and Sam watches me. Jase is smiling, and Sam is too, but it looks false. Her eyes are hardened revealing no emotion. Walking briskly towards the portrait, I push open the door and stumble into the corridor.

Making my way to the kitchens, I silently curse myself for letting this happen. Ducking around a corner to avoid Ms. Norris' sweeping gaze, I ball up my fist punching the wall.

It hurts, but at the same time brings some realization. I missed my chance. I was given all the opportunity in the world, and I blew it. Muttering curses, I stepped through the door into the kitchen.

James sits at the table eating a slice of pie and watching me. I'm not really surprised that he's here. He always seems to be there whenever I need him. That's the great thing about having a friend like him.

"Rough day?" he asks nodding at my bloodied fist. I nod slightly, sitting down across from him. Hundreds of house elves crowd around me bringing me every type of food I could possibly imagine.

James sends them off after I ty to tell them I'm not hungry. I'm not in the mood for eating anymore. "You wanna tell me what happened?" James asks. I'm silent. I honestly don't know what to say. Oh yeah, I accidently let Sam get asked by another guy to the Ball and I just sat there like an idiot! That would go well.

I settle for saying, "I missed my chance." That about sums it all up. James nods understandingly.

"Jase?" he guesses. I nod not even bothering to ask how he knew. I notice a silvery piece of cloth hanging from his pocket. I expected as much from him. Always was a nosy git.

For a moment we sit in silence, until I can't take it anymore. "What do I do James?" I ask almost pleadingly. I never thought there would come a day where I would beg James for help with a girl. What was wrong with this world?

"Well, there's not much you can do Pads. Like you said, you missed your chance," James says. That's helpful. "But, you can do one thing." I perked up.

"What?" I ask almost desperately. James whispers something that I can barely catch, but I smile. James may not be able to get his girl himself, but he sure knows how to come up with a plan.

Sam

I knew what Jase wanted. I'd seen him looking at me in Charms. When he asked me to the ball, I thought about saying now. I really wanted it to be Sirius standing in front of me, but it was Jase. Instead, I say yes knowing at least I won't be going alone.

I watched Sirius sadly still hoping he'd jump up and protest. He didn't. Instead, he gets up and leaves. I make myself stay here and not run after him as much as I want to. He's probably running off to whatever girlfriend he has now.

Jase is smiling, and I am too, but it's false. Inside, the tears well up and threaten to spill over. "Sam?" Jase asks. I shake my head.

"Thanks for asking me," I whisper not trusting my voice. I look around once more hoping Sirius may have come back, but he doesn't. I nod to Jase before heading upstairs to get ready for the full moon. I sigh opening the door to my dorm where Kaelin sleeps, a smile etched on her face. She must be worn out from all the excitement, but she'd have to wake up soon. I smile, happy for her. I'm truly happy to be going with Jase to the ball, but images of Sirius still float around in the back of my mind.

The next chapter may take a while. I'm incredibly stuck. If you have any ideas please tell me. Sorry for the wait. Thank you so much for your reviews. I don't mind being criticized, I even think it helps. Please continue to review more, so I can update faster. :)


	10. Chapter 9

Sam

The sun is just beginning to set when we leave the castle. Remus is paler than ever and seems to be in immense pain, but he doesn't say anything. Kaelin keeps a tight grip on his hand, and her touch seems to relax him a bit.

Sirius won't look at me, and when I look at James for an answer, he just shrugs. Something is up, and I'm hurt that James won't tell me. I know he would never betray Sirius like that though.

The moon can be seen in the distance when Peter changes into his rat form and scuttles over to the Whomping Willow. When he presses the knot, the branches freeze.

Kaelin looks weary of the branches. "I'm going to get hit," she says stubbornly backing away from the tree. Fear flashes in her eyes.

"It's frozen see?" James says touching a branch. The tree shudders angrily but doesn't move. Remus is backing away from us with a panicked expression on his face.

"It's time," he says quietly. Moving towards the tunnel, he disappears. Kaelin turns into her animagus with ease, as does James. Sirius waits for me.

I close my eyes expecting to feel the same tingling feeling as before, but it never comes. Opening my eyes, I see I'm still myself. Sirius and James are watching me curiously. James waits by the tunnel keeping the branches frozen with his antlers.

"I can't do it," I say frustrated. "It's not working." Sirius and James exchange a look, which looks weird on a stag before James nods slowly. I watch them in confusion.

Sirius takes my hand in his, and the effect is immediate. My hearing sharpens along with my ears, and my vision gets better. When Sirius lets go, I'm a cat.

Shaking my head slightly I follow Sirius after he transforms and, we dash down into the tunnel. Remus has already transformed and from the looks of things, I'm glad I wasn't here to watch.

Kaelin is flitting around the room enjoying her wings while James and Remus wrestle around on the ground. James slams to the ground with a loud crash, and when he stands up, I almost expect to see his antlers have snapped off.

Sirius joins in the fun crashing into Remus and James, knocking them to the ground. Happy barks sound mixed with low growls from Remus.

Peter is nowhere to be seen, and I suspect he's off somewhere hiding from the fight. Jumping up onto the table in the corner of the room, I curl up into a ball resting my head on my paws and wrapping my tail around my body.

Kaelin soars over the room landing gracefully next to me before she too decides to rest. I still haven't told her about Jase. I know when I do she'll reprimand me for not going with Sirius.

I question myself as to why I didn't just ask him. I know the answer, but I'm too afraid to admit it. More than anything, I hope I'm wrong.

A loud shriek comes from the boys, and I look up to see Sirius limping towards us holding his front right leg up. Blood gushes from a large gash in his leg.

Whimpering, he sits down next to the table since he's too big to fit on it. From his sad puppy eyes, I get the message he wants me to fix it. I wonder what he expects me to do as a cat.

Shaking my head, I try to tell him there's nothing I can do. He seems to understand, and being the idiot he is he jumps right back into the brawl.

I can't help but feel the emotions coming from him. It's a big mixture of happiness and sorrow. Something is bothering him, and I don't think it's just the cut.

The rest of the night is pretty much the same. The sun is just beginning to rise when we all head back up to the castle exhausted. Collapsing onto my bed, I fall asleep almost immediately. My last thoughts are of how I'm going to tell Kaelin about Jase.

Sirius

After our exciting night, the girls go straight to bed. Remus leans heavily on James and I, his face still deathly pale. Once we get upstairs to our dormitory, Remus collapses onto his bed in exhaustion.

"Did it work?" he asks closing his eyes. I know exactly what he's talking about.

"It worked," I say quietly still remembering the shocking news I found out tonight.

"I told you it would," James says grinning.

"What are you guys talking about?" Peter says yawning.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Padfoot here has a bit of a crush on our friend Sam," James starts.

"Well duh. Who doesn't know that?" Peter says. I feel my face burning and look at the floor. If Peter has figured it out, it must be extremely obvious.

"Anyways, what I bet you don't know, seeing as she hasn't even told Kaelin yet, is that Sam has a date to the ball," Remus says.

"And it's not Padfoot," James adds. I wonder why Sam hasn't told Kaelin yet. She tells that girl everything.

"So I came up with a plan when Padfoot came looking for some advice," James says. He was making me sound pathetic.

"Actually, it was my idea," Remus says. "James stole it from my DADA essay."

"Details Moony, Either way it still worked," James says waving his hand in the air.

"What was the plan?" Peter asks sounding interested. "I'm pretty sure it's the most he's ever said in a conversation in his entire life.

"Well, as you know, your animagus form reflects your personality and emotions. It's produced by your strongest emotion. Love. There is a spell that can prevent a person from changing into their animagus," James explains.

"When the spell is cast, it can only be reversed by whomever the person has the strongest feelings for. Good feelings of course," Remus continues.

"So, I had Moony cast this spell on Sam, so when she tried to transform, she couldn't," James says.

"When Padfoot touched her, the spell was lifted, proving she likes him as more than just a friend," Remus finishes. I still couldn't fully believe this. If it is true, why would Sam go with Jase to the ball?

"The only question is," I say quietly. "Why is she going with Jase?"

"I think I know the reason," Remus says. I snap my head up looking him right in the eyes. "Well, I saw them working together in Charms the other day. I think, she was upset that you hadn't asked her, so she asked him to go with her. Then she had him ask her to go with him in front of you. To make you jealous." Jealous? Me?

"I'm not jealous," I say stubbornly. James rolls your eyes.

"Whatever you say Padfoot. Goodnight guys," James says. I pull my blanket over me thinking about what Remus just said. Could it be possible she liked me as much as I liked her? I know what I have to do now, but I don't know if I can.


	11. Chapter 10

I love this chapter. I don't know why, but I do. It's only a few more chapters (like one or two) until the real romance starts. Thank you to everyone for your reviews. Please review more. I love getting feedback. I do not own Harry Potter, but if I did, Sirius Black would not have died...or Fred...or Dobby...or Hedwig...or Remus and Tonks.

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><p>Sam<p>

I feel the rush of adrenaline I love so much about the game of Quidditch. I watch from above as Sirius and James make yet another goal. We're ahead by nearly 200 points. Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance. In the stands, Kaelin is on her feet screaming at us cheerfully.

Though she doesn't play quidditch, it's her favorite sport, and we can always count on her to be cheering for us in the stands. Jase flies around hitting quaffles at the Ravenclaws.

Zooming above the players, I spot a flash of gold a few feet ahead of me. Darting after it, I see the Ravenclaw seeker do the same to my left.

I fly after the snitch ignoring everything going on around me. I reach my hand out. I've almost got it. I feel my fingers brush against its smooth body before it darts away again.

I follow it with the Ravenclaw seeker close behind me. The crowd is going nuts. Suddenly, I hear screams. They don't sound cheerful. They sound scared. Just as I close my hand around the golden snitch, I feel a sharp pain in my arm, and hear a loud crack.

I'm falling. I can hear the whistle of the wind as I fall towards the ground. Darkness threatens to engulf me, but I fight to stay awake. I can hear the cries from the crowd as I fall to my death.

Then, I stop. I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist, and I'm no longer falling. Instead, I'm soaring through the air. I look up to see Sirius smiling at me. I gasp as he lurches to the right, and my arm is crushed against the broomstick.

His face pales slightly when he sees my arm hanging limply at my side, and he dives down to the ground. When we land, Kaelin, Remus, and Peter run over to make sure I'm okay. James lands beside us.

"Sam!" Kaelin screeches when she sees my arm. I smile slightly releasing the snitch from my grasp.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" I hear the commentator shout. James is cheering, but everything's fading. Sirius grabs my arm steadying me just before I collapse and everything goes black.

Sirius

The game is going great. James and I score yet another goal, just as I see Sam streak by with the Ravenclaw seeker right behind her. A flicker of gold darts away from them. The crowd goes wild.

I see the bludger before anyone else does. Hit hard by a Ravenclaw beater. I yell out for Sam to stop, but she either ignores me, or doesn't hear me. She's inches away from the snitch. She looks determined. The crowd has now seen what I saw, and they are yelling at Sam.

A yell from Kaelin makes me turn my head, but when I turn back, Sam is falling. Streaking towards the ground faster and faster. I race down to catch her.

Grabbing her, I pull her up onto my broom smiling at her. It's all I can do not to kiss her right there. She isn't smiling. I turn the broom to the right, so everyone can see she's okay, but her face pales considerably.

I feel the blood drain from my face when I see her arm. It hangs limply by her side. It's obviously broken. I dive for the ground landing harder than I meant to. Sam cringes when we hit the ground.

Kaelin, Remus, and Peter are there in an instant, and Kaelin is freaking out. She sees Sam's arm and gasps. James lands next to us, and together we steady Sam. Shakily, she opens her hand. She caught the snitch.

The crowd is cheering, but I can feel Sam start to fade. Together, James and I catch her as she collapses being careful not to hurt her arm anymore than it already is.

I carry her to the Hospital Wong while James takes our three broomsticks back to our dorms. Kaelin follows me looking worried about Sam. Her breathing is ragged, but she's alive thank goodness.

Madame Pomphrey screeches when I lay Sam on one of the beds. "All these injuries! Why do they let you all play such a dangerous sport?" she mutters taking out her wand.

Sam's arm in healed in about three seconds, but she doesn't wake up. "She's gone into shock dear. She won't wake up for a few hours. You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Madame Pomphrey says quietly.

James comes in then. After we assure him Sam is going to be fine, he calms down and sits beside me. Kaelin is sitting on the edge of Sam's bed reluctant to leave her friend.

Jase stops by a few minutes after the accident. "I heard what happened," he says. "It's a good thing you were there Sirius." I mutter a reply. I still can't help but not like the guy even if is concerned about Sam.

It's late, around ten when Remus picks up a sleeping Kaelin. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he whispers carrying Kaelin out of the room.

James speaks up as soon as Remus leaves. "You okay Padfoot?" he says concerned.

"Yeah, I just hope she wakes up soon," I say. There's no way I'm leaving until she does. No way.

"You think she can hear us?" James asks. I shake my head. She's unconscious, not in a coma.

"Don't be too hard on Jase, Padfoot," James says. "After all, we know who she really likes."

"The spell probably didn't work right Prongs," I say reluctant to admit Sam might actually like me.

"Sure Padfoot. Whatever you say. I'm going to bed. I'm assuming you're going to stay here?" he says. I nod.

When James leaves, I sigh, and settle into the chair I'm in. Sam stirs, and I sit up. She's mumbling something incoherently. I lean closer trying to make our what she's saying, but the words are so jumbled I can't. Probably nothing important anyways.

Just then, her eyes snap open and she sits up gasping. "Sam?" I ask a little worried. She whips her head to look at me, and I'm surprised to find her eyes are a dark red instead of the normal blue.

She opens her mouth to talk, but all that comes out is a low growling. I gasp as she gets up and begins to move closer to me. Something isn't right. Her wand is in her hand, and she's raising it at me. She mutters something, and there's a flash of green light.

I gasp almost falling out of the chair I'm in. Looking at Sam, I see she's awake sitting up in her bed. Her eyes are blue again. It was just a dream. I sigh.

"Padfoot?" Sam asks. I look up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Bad dream," I say. "What about you. Are you okay?"

"Never better," she says smiling sleepily. "I feel like I could sleep for days though."

I smirk at her. "What was your dream about?" she asks. I shudder at the memory.

"Well, you were kind of trying to kill me," I say sheepishly.

She laughs. "Why would I do that?" she asks. I shake my head.

"I don't know, but your eyes were blood red. It was scary," I say.

"Well, it's over now. What happened? All I remember is catching the snitch. After that, nothing."

"You broke your arm and fell. I caught you," I say. "Then you passed out."

"And you stayed here all that time?" she asks. I nod. "Thanks."

"Anytime. I tried to yell for you to stop when I saw the bludger, but you didn't hear me," I say.

"Oh, I heard you. I chose to ignore you. I guess we all make mistakes and have to suffer the consequences," she says.

"Yeah," I say. "I've made a big mistake myself, but I don't know how to fix it," I say mostly to myself.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Sam says.

"Yeah, if she'll ever forgive me," I mutter. Sam seems to have not heard the last part, and I don't mean for her too.

"Take me to bed?" she asks yawning.

"Of course," I say helping her up.

We walk back to the common room mostly in silence. When we get to the portrait hole, she stops and turns around. Looking right into my eyes, she whispers, "You're forgiven," and lightly kisses me on the cheek.

Then just like that she's gone, and I'm left here looking like an idiot in complete shock.

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><p>Thank you so much to everyone who reads this story. I plan to write many many more in the future. Please Review my story. :)<p> 


	12. Chapter 11

I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own Sam and Kaelin, and I get to decide their fates. What will happen next? I honestly don't know as of yet, but I will soon. Please keep the reviews coming, I'm so happy so many people like this story.

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><p>Sam<p>

The ball starts in just a few moments. Kaelin finishes curling my hair, and we fix our make up. She's ready for the best night of her life. I am too if things go as I hope they will.

Sirius and I haven't spoken about last night since it happened, and I'm afraid I did the wrong thing. I haven't even told Kaelin, and I'm pretty sure I never will. I know Sirius hasn't told James because James would have told me if he did.

"Kaelin, what if he has a date? What if he has a girlfriend?" I say for the millionth time.

"Sam, James would be the first to now if Padfoot had a date or a girlfriend, and he wouldn't hesitate even a moment to tell you," she replies. I sigh.

"Since when has Sirius Black ever gone to something without a date? Maybe he kept it a secret," I say stubbornly.

"Sam, you're the one who has a date, not him. Don't blame me for your mistake," she says. I don't regret saying yes to Jase, but I wish were Sirius I was going with. I'm happy to be going with Jase all the same.

Smiling, Kaelin opens the door. "You ready?" she asks. I nod not wanting to keep Jase waiting. Sirius, or no Sirius, I am determined to have a good time tonight.

Jase and Remus wait for us in the common room, and they both smile when we walk down the stairs. Remus goes off with Kaelin, but I have Jase wait with me. I want to give them space. This is their night.

Finally, we walk down to the Great Hall where the ball will be held. Lily stands off to the side of the door peering in cautiously. "Hey Jase. Can you excuse me a moment?" I ask. He nods, and I walk over to Lily.

"He's already in there," I say. She whips her head around to look at me surprised.

"Who?" she asks.

"James of course," I say. Her eyes widen.

"I-I wasn't-I" Lily stutters.

"Lily, that's exactly who you were looking for. Why won't you just tell him the truth?" I ask.

"I can't Sam," she says.

"All right, but you know you won't be happy until you do," I say leaving her to think about what I just said.

"Let's go," I say to Jase. We enter the room, and I can feel all eyes on us. I know everyone is surprised to see us together. I search the room knowing exactly who I'm looking for, but not willing to admit it.

I find him, over to the side with James. They're both watching us, and I feel my face burning slightly. "You want to dance?" Jase asks. I nod thankful for something to distract me.

I can still feel his eyes on me as I dance with Jase. I do my best to ignore it, but it's not easy. I keep my mind on the conversation Jase and I are having.

Kaelin and Remus are dancing slowly not far from Jase and I. They look adorable together. James and Lily stand on opposite sides of the room stealing glances at each other. I laugh to myself. When will they ever just kiss and go out? It would make everyone's lives so much easier.

After a few songs, Jase goes off to get us some drinks. I turn around to see Sirius walking towards me. I smile and meet him halfway. "Hey," I say smiling.

"Hey, you look amazing," he says. I can't help but smile. Maybe tonight will go the way I want.

Sirius

Sam looks stunning. There's really no other word for it. Her blonde curls frame her face just right. I'm guessing Kaelin did her hair, as Sam couldn't work a curling iron if her life depended on it. I've seen her try.

Seeing her dance with Jase makes me want to knock him out, but of course I don't. It's my fault he asked her before I could. My fault I'm not the one dancing with her instead of him.

I almost laugh at James and Lily. Each so clueless as they stare at each other from across the room. I know James wants nothing more than to grab her and kiss her, and from the looks of Lily, that's exactly what she wants too. Will they ever sort this out and finally be happy?

Kaelin and Remus dance, and Kaelin is beaming. Remus looks happier than I've ever seen him.

Sam seems to be having fun, and that's really all that matters. Eventually, Jase leaves presumably to get drinks, and I see my chance. I walk over to her as casually as possible fighting the urge to run over and sweep her into my arms.

She smiles when she sees me and walks over. I love her smile. What am I saying? I've never been this into a girl before. Sam has a different effect on me. I don't know what it is.

"Hey," she says smiling again.

"You look beautiful," the words slip out. I really have no control over them. She keeps smiling though, so I know I said the right thing.

"You want to dance?" she asks.

"Of course," I say taking her hand and leading her out onto the dance floor.

"No date?" she questions as we dance.

"Nope," I say brushing the question away. "Having a good time with Jase?" I ask trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, he's great. I never thought I'd see the day where you didn't have a date," she jokes. Obviously, changing the subject wouldn't work.

"Yeah well, she was taken," I say calmly.

"So there is a special girl," she says rising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you could say that," I say. If only she knew.

The song ends, as I knew it would, and Sam leaves to find Jase. I'm left alone once more, but no longer unhappy. The dance made my night. If only James and Lily would stop making themselves miserable. Then the night would have been perfect. Oh well, that's a task for another day. My next project is surviving Christmas with Sam's family.

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><p>Thank you so much for the reviews. I can't wait to get the next chapter out. I think everyone will like it. Will Sam and Sirius finally get together? I din't know just yet, but they might!<p> 


	13. Chapter 12

I do not own Harry Potter...sadly, but I do love getting reviews. :)

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><p>Sam<p>

"Sam wake up!" Kaelin yells at me. I sit up groggily. "Sam, the train leaves in twenty minutes and you're not even packed!"

"Wha-" I start. Wait. Twenty minutes? I jump out of bed and begin throwing my stuff haphazardly into my trunk. Christmas break! I couldn't wait to get home. Christmas at my house was always fun.

"Hey Kaelin?" I ask absently while brushing my tangled hair.

"Yeah?" she calls from the other room.

"Do you know if Padfoot is staying with me or James?" I ask. Normally, he stayed with me, but I thought I'd ask in case he changed his mind after the kiss.

"Doesn't he always stay with you?" Kaelin asks. So she would be no help. I guess I'd have to ask him myself.

Fifteen minutes later, the six of us were getting on the train. I looked back at the castle one last time. I'd miss it, but I was glad to be going home. I'd be back in just two weeks. Not to long.

With six teenagers, the compartment is a little packed, but we manage. I sit across from Sirius not really thinking about it. Kaelin sits next to Remus of course next to me.

I won't go into detail about the train ride. Let's just say it's crazy. When we reach Platform 9 ¾, I still hadn't asked Sirius if he was coming to my house. Oh well, I'd find out soon enough.

My trunk was heavy with all the Christmas presents I'd thrown into it, and when I took it down from he rack above my sea, it almost fell on top of me. I did end up falling, and landed hard on the ground.

"Need some help?" Sirius asks laughing at me. I reach my hands out expecting him to help me up.

"Thanks," I say when I'm off the ground. Sirius just shrugs.

"You're coming to my house right?" I ask holding my breath.

"Of course. Unless you don't want me," he says.

"Of course I want you to come!" I say laughing. "Help me carry this." His trunk was already on the platform, so he took one end of mine, and together we dragged it off the train.

"I think your trunk is heavier than Kaelin's!" he complained.

"Well sorry for wanting to buy everyone Christmas presents!" I say. My parents stand off to the side with Kaelin's looking out of place. Even after seven years, they still aren't completely comfortable with the Wizarding world.

Kaelin and Remus are talking to her parents. Kaelin's dad doesn't look too happy, and I'm assuming they are telling them about the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing.

My parents smile when we come up. "Hi honey, how's your year been?" mom asks hugging me.

"Great. We won our first quidditch game!" I say excitedly.

"Yeah, and then Sam spent a night in the Hospital Wing!" Sirius says laughing.

"Hey! That wasn't my fault!" I say.

"Yes it was! You completely ignored my warning!" he retorts. Dad laughs.

"Nice to see you to are getting along so well," he jokes.

"What happened?" mom asks worriedly as we head to the car.

"I got hit by a bludger and fell of my broom. Sirius here caught me, it was nothing really," I say.

"Yeah, because a broken arm is nothing," Sirius says.

"Well, I'm glad Sirius was paying attention at least!" Dad says.

The car ride was much the same filled with constant chatter from my mother. "I heard there was a ball. Did you two go?" she asks.

"Yeah, I went with Jase," I say. "He's in my Charms class."

"Sirius where were you?" Dad asks in that how-could-you-let-my-baby-girl-go-with-a-date kind of voice.

"I went too, but I didn't have a date," he says. He doesn't seem to be enjoying the conversation too much, so I change the subject.

"Where are the boys?" I ask referring to my ten year old twin brothers.

"At school. They don't get off until tomorrow," mom says. Yes! A whole day with no twins!

We pull into the driveway a few minutes later, and I jump out of the car. My dad opens the trunk, and I almost fall again trying to get my stuff out. Sirius laughs helping me once again.

I try to grab the other end, but end up dropping it and we both fall on the ground dropping the trunk on top of us. We just laugh trying to push it off. "How much does this thing weigh?" Sirius groans pushing it off of us.

"Quit complaining!" I say taking one side. I step back into a patch of slippery ice, and once again, I fall.

"Clumsy much?" Sirius laughs, catching me. I look up at him laughing. His arms are warm against the cold air, and I don't want to move. We stay like that for a few minutes until I see my parents watching us.

I quickly stand up getting my trunk and dragging it into the house. I ignore my parents amused looks as I take my stuff up to my room. I'll be hearing about this soon from my mother.

I don't bother to unpack and run back down the stairs. Sirius is in the kitchen with my mom. "Where's dad?" I ask sitting down at the breakfast bar next to Sirius.

"I think he's in his office," mom says. She's making lunch.

"What's for lunch?" Sirius asks.

"Always thinking of your stomach Padfoot?" I ask laughing. He laughs.

"Sandwiches," mom says. "Sorry, no gourmet meals today."

"Let's go outside," I say. Sirius nods following me. We go outside and over to the big oak tree where we first met. I climb up into the tree.

"So, we've got two whole weeks. What do you want to do?" I ask as Sirius climbs up into the tree with me. I settle back against a thick branch.

"Eat your mom's amazing cooking, spend time with one of my best friends, and enjoy being away from my family," he says cheerfully.

"What's your family like?" I ask. I've never met them, and he hasn't told me much about them. Sirius looks away hesitating.

"You don't want to know," he says.

"Yes I do. You're my best friend, and I don't know anything about where you came from!" I say stubbornly.

"They're not the kind of people you'd want to meet," he says. "They hate muggleborns, and anything that could soil their beloved name."

"Do they support the Dark Lord?" I ask.

"They support him, but they don't follow him. They don't do anything that would make them do actual work,' he says. "Regulus, is different. He's one of his followers."

"He is?" I say. Sirius nods.

"My parents were so proud when they found out. That was the same night I left last year. The same reason I won't ever go back," he says sadly.

"What happened that night?" I ask. I remember that night clearly.

Until then, Sirius had only spent a few weeks with us before school started in the summer. It was late when I heard the knock. I opened the door to find Sirius standing there with his trunk and broomstick looking absolutely crushed. I never questioned him about it. It always seemed like a painful subject for him, but now I had to know.

"It was a few days into summer when Regulus didn't come home one night. My mother was frantic saying it was my fault. I was the one who forced my brother to leave. My father told me what a worthless son I was. How I would never be anything like Regulus.

"I blew up at him, screaming about how Regulus was a murderer. How he supported the man who wanted to kill people because of their birth. I told them I wasn't proud to be their son.

"They said I was ungrateful. That they'd given me everything, and I just threw it all away. I'd had enough. I threw my stuff into my trunk and grabbed my broom. Just before I left, I saw my mother blasting me off the family tree. I swore than and there that I would never go back to that place.

"I had no plan when I left, so I flew here. I thought about going to James', but I remembered that fist day we met. How you're family accepted me without question. This place has always been more of a home for me than my parents' house ever was," Sirius finished.

"I had no idea things were that bad," I said quietly. He shrugged.

"It's gone now. I don't ever have to go back," he says.

"What happened to Regulus?" I ask.

"I suspect he was on a mission for Voldemort. He came home eventually," he says.

Neither of us says anything for a while. Finally, I spoke again. "Padfoot," I say. He looks up at me. "Let's make this the best Christmas ever okay?"

He smiles. "Okay," he says. Just that one word makes me believe it really will be.

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><p>As of right now, I'd say I'm about halfway done. That could change in the future as i get more ideas though.<p> 


	14. Chapter 13

Exactly 2000 words. It took me forever to get that exact number, so I hope you like it! Oh, and I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p>Sirius<p>

Sam knows everything. Well, not everything, but she knows a lot. I haven't even told James any of this, but I'm glad I told her. I wish I'd told her a long time ago. She didn't act all sympathetic; she didn't pity me, and I'm grateful for that. I don't want to be treated different because I come from a bunch of pureblood freaks. I'm nothing like them.

The cold makes us come inside eventually, and her mother is cooking again. This time she's making dinner. We must have been outside for a while. That explains why we're frozen. "Dinner's ready," she says struggling to lift the heavy pot.

I take it from her without a word, and she smiles gratefully. "Thank you Sirius," she says.

"No problem, Mom," I say jokingly. I've been calling her "mom" for three years now. I know she loves it, but she'd never admit it.

When everyone is seated at the table, "mom" has us all bow our heads for the prayer. They're family has always been strong Christians. They are the people who brought me to Christ. I sometimes wonder hoe different my life would be without them. They're more of a family to me than mine ever was.

"Dig in," my father says afterwards. It's a simple meal of spaghetti and meatballs, but it's amazing all the same. I love Sam's mom's cooking. Anyone who doesn't is insane.

"Boys," The twins receive a stern look from their father, and stop whatever they were doing.

"So, how's Kaelin?" Sam's mom asks her. Sam and I both smile at this. I know Sam's been dying to tell her mother about Kaelin and Remus.

"She's good. She's dating Remus," Sam says. Her mom raises and eyebrow.

"Remus seems like a nice boy," she comments. "Very smart isn't he?" We nod. She doesn't know about him being a werewolf, but I doubt she would be one to hate him for it.

I remember the time we all stayed here for Easter. With the six of us, it was crazy, but Remus seemed to keep everything together. He was polite, and kept us out of trouble. For the most part anyway. Now Sam's mom loves him.

"How about James and Peter?" her father asks.

"James is still chasing after Lily, same as always, and Peter, well Peter's Peter," Sam says. True. Peter doesn't say much.

"How long has James been after that Lily now?" he asks.

"Since third year," I say smirking. James would never give up on her. Never.

"Poor boy, I don't understand why she hates him so much. He seems like a nice boy to me," Sam's mom says. Yeah, well, she thinks I'm a "nice boy" too. She hasn't seen James when he's hyper, or moaning about his unrequited love for Lily. It can get annoying after awhile, but, being the good friend that I am, I always listen. Or pretend to anyway.

The rest of dinner is much the same, with more questions about our lives at school. We answer them all, though not completely truthfully. We leave out all the pranking and general mischief we've gotten into so far. I help "mom" clear the table while Sam goes upstairs to take a shower.

"Sirius dear, hand me that plate will you?" "Mom" asks. I've never been able to figure out that dishwasher thing, so I help out by handing her the dishes.

"So, school's good?" she asks.

"Yeah," I answer absent-mindedly. We have this conversation every time I come here at least three times.

"Any girlfriends?" Woah. That was a new question.

"No," I say feeling my face turn slightly pink. She looks up at me smirking.

"Ah, but there is a girl isn't there?" she asks noticing my red face.

"Sort of," I say, wanting to change the subject. Thankfully, she doesn't dwell on it. What am I supposed to say? Yes, I've fallen for your daughter actually? I don't think so.

"I won't pry. Just make sure you treat her right," she says. "I think that's it for the dishes. Oh! George wanted to speak with you. I think he's in his office."

I walk to the office door wondering what Sam's dad could possibly want. I debate about knocking for a moment. I'm like family here, but I've never been in his office before. It doesn't seem right to just walk in.

Before I can make my decision, the door opens, and Sam's dad stands there. "Ah, Sirius, please come in," he says. I do, feeling slightly out of place. His office is neat and orderly with everything in its place.

"I wanted to speak with you about something," he says. I'm slightly worried now. His tone scares me.

"Yes, sir," I say taking a seat in one of the big squishy chairs. He sits in the other one. I've always called him "sir". I don't have quite the same relationship with him as "mom". He's not cold or mean. We just don't have a lot in common. He likes neat orderly things; I like being hyper and crazy.

"It's about Sam," he says. I cringe. I always knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it to be right now

"What about her?" I say trying to play innocent. I should know by now he can see right through that by now.

"Don't play innocent with me Sirius, you know exactly why you're here. I've seen the way you look at her," he says. I look at the ground feeling my face turn bright red.

"Now I'm not going to sit here and lecture you about treating my daughter right because I already know that you will." I feel a bit better about our conversation though I'm not exactly cheerful about it. Then again, what guy wants to talk to a man about dating his daughter?

"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. I've noticed Sam's been catching the eye of a few boys around town, and the last thing I want is my baby girl to get hurt by some jerk," he says.

"I would never hurt her sir," I say quickly. That statement holds the most truth in any sentence I've ever said. I would never ever hurt Sam.

"No, I believe you. I'm just saying, that I'm afraid you're going to lose her," he says. I'm confused at where he's going with this.

"Sam's not going to wait forever Sirius. Don't miss your chance, and let some other guy break her heart," he says. "I've noticed how she is around you. You make her happy, and I want nothing less for my daughter," I don't answer

"Just think about what I've said." He says opening the door for me.

"I will," I say honestly.

When I leave his office, a thousand thoughts are swirling through my head. Some are good, and some are bad, but mostly they are just confusing. After all, it's not everyday your best friend's father tells you to man up and ask his daughter out.

Sam

Christmas is the same as always at my house. Lots of amazing food, presents, family, and my best friend. Who could ask for anything more? It's our last night here, and even though I will miss everyone, I'm glad to be going back to Hogwarts. I miss Kaelin, and Remus, and James, and even Peter. Dinner is cleaned up, and I'm supposed to be packing, but I'm too lazy. I'll do it last minute like I always do.

I haven't heard from anyone in a few days, but I assume they're just caught up in the Christmas spirit. I'll make sure they make up for their lack of letters when I see them tomorrow. I heard Lily and James met up somewhere in London by accident. I've yet to find out what happened since he says she spent the rest of the day with him, but I will soon.

I don't know where the twins are, and I'm not sure I want to know. They're probably doing something to get them in trouble.

"Let's go for a walk," I say looking at Sirius. He's watching TV like he's never seen one before. It is somewhat new to him, but you'd think after seven years, the amazement would wear down. Not for Sirius.

"Yeah, ok," he says not really paying attention. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even hear a word I say.

I grab his arm dragging him out the door despite his protests about whatever show he was watching. "Come on!" I say.

"Fine," he grumbles following me.

It's chilly outside, and I shiver a bit. I like the cold, but not that much. I wrap my jacket around me tighter putting my hands in my pockets to warm them up. Sirius looks distracted, and won't look at me. He's probably dwelling on his show he's missing. You'd think he'd enjoy going for a walk with his best friend. I decide to make conversation to get him talking.

"So, we're halfway through our last year of Hogwarts," I say. "It's kind of sad isn't it?"

"Yeah, a bit," he says absently. Well that didn't work. We walk in silence for a few moments, and Sirius seems to be fighting an internal battle. I'm about to ask him what's wrong when I hear a shout.

"Hey!" says the voice. I turn around to see a guy in a t-shirt and shorts sauntering over to us like he's so cool. Great, trouble.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"None of your business," I say coldly. I've dealt with people like him before. Jerks. You do not want to mess with these guys. I can see his group of friends walking a few yards behind him. They're probably all drunk.

"You're pretty hot. How's about we ditch your boyfriend here and go for a ride?" he says eyeing Sirius. Sirius glares at him, but doesn't say anything. He knows I like to fight my own battles.

"In your dreams," I say. "And he's not my boyfriend." I don't know why I add the last part. It's not like the guy cares. He just wants to mess with me.

"Come on sweetie, your too good for a guy like him. I'll take care of you," he says putting a hand on my arm. He starts to pull me away.

"Leave me alone!" I say trying to slip away from his grasp, but he holds tight. I cry out in pain when his icy grip tightens. It feels like my arm is going to break. Sirius glares at him even fiercer, and I know he isn't going to let this go on.

"Let her go," he growls. For once, I'm glad for his intervention.

"And who's gonna make me?" the guy snarls, but I can feel his grip loosen a tiny bit. Sirius is almost a head taller than him.

I don't expect what happens next, and I'm shocked. One minute, Sirius is glaring at him, and the next he's punching him in the face. The guy curses loudly holding his bleeding nose. His friends roar with laughter. I relax when he lets go of my arm.

"Jeez!" he says running off towards his friends. Sirius takes my arm much gentler than that other guy pulling me away from them and into my backyard.

"Thanks," I say. "You didn't have to punch him you know." Sirius shrugs, and I know there's no point in arguing. He would have done it either way. That's just his nature.

He doesn't say anything for a while, and once again I get the feeling he's fighting himself. Whatever he's hiding, I don't think it'll stay hidden for long. He tells me everything whether he wants to or not. When he does speak he sounds unsure. "Sam, I have something to tell you," he says his voice barely above a whisper. "Something I should have said a while ago."

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><p>So? Was it as goods I hope? Bet you can't wait for the next chapter! Will Sirius finally tell Sam everything? I guess you'll just have to wait and see!<p> 


	15. Chapter 14

I worked really hard on this chapter, so I hope you like it. I do not own Harry Potter, but i really wish I did.

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><p>Sirius<p>

My words hung in the air. There's no going back now. I took the leap I'd been dying to take for months, and now I have to keep going. I pause unsure how to begin. It's not everyday I tell my best friend I want to be more than that.

Keeping her hand grasped firmly in mine, I head Sam over to the big oak tree where we first met. It seems so long ago now. If it hadn't been for that day, I might not be standing here right now about to confess everything to her.

_I remember that day back in first year. It was our second day at Hogwarts, and I'd just met James. I knew Sam would like him too, but we couldn't find her anywhere. We were both completely lost as we still didn't know where everything was. _

_ We were laughing and walking down an empty corridor when we heard it. James heard it first, and he stopped me. I stayed silent for a moment until I heard a soft sobbing coming from a hidden staircase. I never would have seen it if James hadn't heard the crying. _

_ Being the curious little kids we were, we had to investigate. There was Sam crying her eyes out oblivious to our presence. She sat on the stairs with her legs curled up in from of her. She looked so fragile while she stared out the large window trying to hide her tears._

_It was the first time I ever saw her cry, as she tried so hard to be tough. Even seven years later, I've only seen her cry three times. Three times someone hurt her so bad, she couldn't hold back. Each time, I was there for her. _

_James backed up having no idea who she was, but I sat down beside her pulling her into a hug. She didn't protest and buried her head in my shirt still sobbing. I looked at James helplessly, but he just shrugged looking concerned. Being only eleven, neither of us had the slightest clue of what to do with a crying girl. _

_ I just held Sam as she cried, stroking her soft hair and trying to tell her everything would be okay. She eventually pulled away from me, her eyes red and puffy and still wet with tears. She looked truly miserable. _

_ "They called me a mudblood. Two seventh years," she whispered, and I heard James' sharp intake of breath. I don't know how she found out what that word means, but it had obviously hurt her. "They said no one wants me here." Her voice sounded so small, but she tried to hide the fact that she'd been crying. _

_ "Don't listen to them Sam. I want you here. I'll always be here for you," I said. I was angry at whoever had hurt her, but I wasn't stupid enough to go picking fights with seventh years. _

_ "Thanks Sirius," she said quietly. _

_ "Hey, what are best friends for?" I asked teasingly. She grinned at me._

_ "Best friends forever?" she asks looking right at me with those amazing blue eyes of hers. _

_ "Forever," I assured her. She smiled up at me assured that everything would be okay now. _

_ After that, I introduced her to James, and from then on, it was the three of us. The trouble makers of the school. When we met Kaelin, Remus, and Peter, Kaelin and Sam became very close, as did James and I. But in the end, Sam and I were always the closest. Together through everything, good and bad. Best friends. _

The memory ends, and I'm left with one thought. What if that's all she sees me as? The best friend? What if that's all she wants? The thought makes me feel sick. I honestly don't think I could handle her rejection. I couldn't look at her knowing she doesn't feel the same way.

I take a deep breath, knowing I have no choice but to continue. Sam is looking at me strangely wondering why I'm not saying anything. My legs feel like jello, and I want to run away, but there's no way I'm letting her walk away without ever knowing.

"Sam," I say feeling my voice shaking slightly. I pray she doesn't notice, and she doesn't seem to. "You're my best friend right?" I ask.

"Of course. Forever. Just like you promised back in first year," she reminds me. I nod.

"I-well, I thought maybe-I mean I hoped-I" I stop when I realize I'm rambling. Sam looks right into my eyes. Why is this so hard? Just tell her. It's not that complicated!

"Sirius, stop," she says. I feel my heart pounding with her words, and I brace myself for the rejection that's sure to come. "I know what you're going to say." She stays calm, and I wonder how she does it. I feel my stomach doing flips at the thought of asking her out, and she's completely calm about it all.

I'm glad she's the one doing the talking. I'm not sure I could have kept going if she hadn't interrupted. I stay silent and let her continue. "Sirius, I'm scared," her voice is barely above a whisper, and I have to strain my ears to hear her. She looks at the ground, but before she does, I see a fearful look in her eyes.

"You don't have to be scared Sam. I'm here," I say reminding her of that day in first year. To be honest, I'm surprised my voice works at all right now.

"What if this doesn't work out? What if it ruins our friendship? I can't lose you Sirius," she says quietly, and I see tears brimming in her eyes. I rest my head against the tree behind me trying to relax. She hasn't said no. Not yet anyways.

"I'm not going anywhere. Ever," I assure her, but she doesn't look convinced. The tears are threatening to spill over now, and the last thing I want is to make her cry.

"What if?" she murmurs more to herself than me. I lift her head up, so she's looking right at me once more, and I'm almost overwhelmed with the urge to kiss her, but I don't. I can't ruin my chances because of my selfish desires. She turns her head away from me as if she can sense what I want. All the more reason not to. She's obviously not ready.

"We can go slow. We don't have to rush, and we can make things work," I say. "I meant what I said in first year. I'll never leave you alone." She hesitates, and for one heart stopping moment, I'm sure she's going to refuse. My heart speeds up, and I don't breath. I wait for her to say something. Anything.

When she speaks, my head is spinning, and I have a hard time concentrating on her words. "Slow?" she repeats. My eyes widen. "I want to go slow."

"Is that a yes?" I say my voice barely above a whisper. She smiles at me.

"Definitely," she says. I grin hugging her tightly, and once again I want to kiss her, but I'm pretty sure that isn't in the description of "slow" just yet.

She hugs me back, and I can't stop smiling. I take her hand in mine, and we just stand there for a moment thinking about what just happened. I've waited so long for this, and now I finally have it. It's one of the best moments of my life, and I pray it lasts forever.

Sam

When he entwines his hand with mine, I feel the sparks shooting up my arm. We sit under that oak tree for a long time in complete silence. I want to say something, but I don't know what.

He looks completely relaxed, but I feel uneasy. This is what I wanted isn't it? The moment I've been waiting for since the beginning of the year. Why is it that I feel so afraid?

"Sirius," I ask looking up at him. He's watching the snow drift lazily to the ground, and I'm reminded of just how cold it is. I can barely feel my fingers, but I don't want to move just yet.

"Hm?" he asks looking over at me with his grey eyes.

"Let's not tell my parents about this yet. Okay?" I say. Maybe that's why I'm afraid. Afraid of what my parents will say.

"If that's what you want," he says calmly. I nod slowly, but the terrified feeling doesn't go away. I have a feeling it's more than just my parents reaction I'm worried about, but I'll deal with whatever it is when the time comes. For now, I just want to make this memory last.


	16. Chapter 15

Sam

"Sam, hurry up!" Sirius cries dragging me through the barrier. I smile. Just because we're 'together' now, doesn't mean Sirius doesn't still act like a four year old and demand to get to the train early. He'll never grow up.

He grabs my hand pulling me behind him, and I notice my parents watching us. They're laughing, but I see them eyeing our entwined hands. It's not unusual for Sirius to drag me around if I'm being too slow, but my parents seem to know things are different now.

Neither of them says anything, but I untangle my hand from his feeling my face turn slightly pink. The platform is empty as usual, and my parents give us their little good bye speech.

"Get good grades and don't get into too much trouble," my mother says.

"Keep an eye on my daughter, Sirius," my dad says. "Win us a quidditch game."

Just as they are about to leave, Kaelin comes bouncing through the platform with her brother. This must be the first time in history that she's ever been to the platform on time. Let alone early.

"Hi Kaelin, hi Matt, where are your parents?" my mom asks.

"Dad had to get to work early, and mom's out of town," she says.

"How's Remus?" mom asks raising her eyebrows. Only my mother.

"I haven't heard from him in a while. His family went to America for the holidays," Kaelin says sweetly.

"Any girlfriends Matt?" my father throws in smirking. Matt blushes a deep red and shakes his head. I remember the pretty blonde girl I saw him with on the train. Maria, I think.

"We'd better get going. Have a good year!" my mother calls walking back through the barrier. As soon as they're out of sight, Kaelin tackles me.

"Sammi!" she cries hugging me tightly. I fall back onto the ground laughing.

"Kaelin!" I say as Sirius helps me up. He doesn't let go of my hand when I'm back on my feet, and this doesn't escape Kaelin's notice.

Her eyes widen. "No way! Seriously?" she screeches. I nod feeling my face burning again. I'd been dreading Kaelin's reaction all morning. "Tell me everything!"

Remus calmly comes up then hugging Kaelin who's still screaming. Matt glances at his sister with a your crazy expression on his face before joining his own friends who have showed up now.

"I'm assuming Kaelin is screaming because you too finally got together?" Remus says smiling. Sirius is watching Kaelin in amusement. She's now bouncing up and down in excitement.

Kaelin is still begging for details when James joins us with Peter. "Woah. Who gave her sugar?" he says laughing. Then he too sees our hands and raises his eyebrows at Sirius.

"Well finally!" he shouts attracting an awful lot of attention. "I thought you'd never get the guts to tell her!" Sirius just shakes his head as we get on the train and sit in our compartment.

"Are you going to tell me what happened already?" Kaelin whines.

"She couldn't resist my amazing looks and great hair," Sirius said smirking. I smack his arm.

"Says the one who looked ready to pass out!" I say laughing. Sirius won't look at James or Remus while they crack up. It's not everyday they hear their best friend was scared to ask a girl out!

"Why am I the only one who doesn't have a girlfriend?" James whines.

"Hey! I don't have one either!" Peter squeaks, but he's ignored.

"Well, we can't all have my amazing looks and natural charm," Sirius says grinning. I smack him again.

"You're about to lose your amazing looks if you don't shut up," I say.

The rest of the train ride is much the same with Kaelin flipping out over everything and James complaining about Lily. No different from any other day really, except for the fact that I'm going out with my best friend.

Sirius

Only my friends would make such a big deal out of something like this. I can't help but smile when I see how excited Kaelin is, and how jealous James is. I keep a hold of Sam's hand the whole ride. I smile at the warmth her hand gives. I've waited for this for a long time now, and I still can't believe I finally have it.

The train ride is much the same as usual except Sam and Kaelin actually stay awake this time. Sam leans against me pressing her body close to mine. It's amazing how different it feels now when just a few weeks ago, she'd done the same thing.

Lily comes by our compartment a few times to remind James of his head boy duties, but I think she just wants to see him. I'll never understand why she won't just admit she likes him so they can both be happy, and the rest of us don't have to hear James complaining anymore.

Kaelin has yet to stop bouncing in her seat by the time we reach the station in Hogsmeade. Honestly, I think she's more excited about this than Sam and I. Remus tries to calm her down, but nothing he says can stop her.

Peter is Peter. There's just no other way to describe him. He sits in his seat and eats until he eventually falls asleep and candy wrappers litter the floor. That boy can eat more than James and I combined and that's saying something. Word of advice: never get between James and I and food.

James is jealous. I can tell. He's upset about Lily even though she seems to be acting a lot better towards him lately. She may not realize it yet, but he's grown up a lot. He'll never give up on her even if he has to wait a hundred years. I do hope she gives in before then. His whining does get tiring after a while. He could have any girl he wants, but he chooses the one he can't have. That's James for you. Stubborn. Sam's like that too.

Sam seems like something is bothering her. She's quiet, which isn't normal for her. She smiles at me, but there's something hidden behind it. Her eyes give away the secrets. Something she's trying to hide, but I can see right through the lies. Something's wrong, and I wish I could help, but I don't know how. I can only hope she'll tell me before something bad happens.


	17. Chapter 16

Sam

It's been almost a month since we got back to Hogwarts. Classes are the same as usual though McGonagall keeps shooting smirks at Sirius and I. The entire school knows about us after Kaelin decided t scream it at the top of her lungs at breakfast one morning.

While I sit in charms, my mind drifts away to thoughts of Sirius and I. He's kept his promise of going slow, but I know he doesn't like it. I'm pretty sure he tried to kiss me the other day, but I turned away before he could. I can't help but feel something's going to go wrong. That's why I keep things how they are. In case things don't work out.

Amazingly, James and Lily sit together in almost every class. This gets a lot of attention, but they don't seem to care. I was astounded when Lily came bouncing into our first class late and actually smiled at James. I have a feeling things are going to turn around drastically for them soon.

Kaelin and Remus are as happy as ever. Honestly, those two were made for each other. She's hyper and crazy, and he's smart enough to keep her calm. For the most part. They pass notes in class, but somehow still manage to get good grades.

Sirius pretends to read his textbook beside me, but I can tell he's half asleep. I doubt he's read a word of it. He smiles at me, and my heart speeds up just a bit. Even a month later, I still feel my heart speed up around him. If Professor Flitwick wasn't keeping an extremely close watch on us, I write Sirius a note.

It's not until after dinner anything actually happens. It's a normal boring day for us. We couldn't pull any pranks because we were stuck in classes all day, and all of the Slytherins are still in the hospital from our last prank (don't ask) so we couldn't even make fun of them.

Kaelin and I sit by the fireplace after dinner with our homework spread out across the table. I have no idea where the boys are, and Kaelin won't tell me. Probably off getting into trouble.

"I can't believe Slughorn wants us to write a seventeen inch essay on Bezoars. There's no way I can come up with all that information! I'm pretty sure it's impossible!" Kaelin huffs.

"Did you do your transfiguration homework yet? I don't get it." I say. She shakes her head. "Never mind, I'll ask Padfoot." I say.

"What about Divination? Did you get number seven?" she asks.

"Nope. We're never going to get this done," I say.

A sudden cry from our dormitory splits the air, and Kaelin's eyes widen. We both drop our quills and rush upstairs to see what happened. The door is open when we get there, and we can see a small figure on the floor.

"Lily!" I cry rushing to her side. Sobs rack her body and she clutches a small piece of paper. I take it from her and silently read it.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are sorry to inform you that your parents were found dead in their home early this morning. It appears to be the work of You-Know-Who.

Ministry Of Magic

That's it. Just a very formal unsympathetic letter. I want to rip it up. How could they be so mean? Lily's parents were Muggles. They didn't even know who Voldemort is. How could this have happened?

Sirius

"I can't believe you were so careless!" James says angrily. I groan. He's been going on about this for an hour now.

"Sam's going to kill you when she finds out," Remus warns.

"I'm sorry okay! I didn't know he'd take it!" I say defensively.

"I know you didn't. Just don't expect our help when your girlfriend murders you," James says. I know he's mad about me losing the Marauder's Map, but would he really leave me at Sam's mercy? He wouldn't. Would he?

"You think Kaelin's going to tell her?" I say slightly worried.

"Nah, Kaelin doesn't want you to get killed. Only slightly injured. It's better if you tell her yourself," Remus says. Sam would be very angry about the map. She is the one who came up with the idea in the first place. I don't think she'd really hurt me. I hope.

"We can get it back!" I say. "Sam will never have to know." I hope this works.

"How?" Remus says unconvinced.

"I saw him take it into his office! If we sneak in there with James' invisibility cloak, it should be easy!" I say now sure my plan will work. Until James has to open his big mouth.

"One problem. Mrs. Norris is sitting by the door," he says pointing at the scrawny tabby cat. It hisses angrily. Uh oh. If she calls Filtch, we're dead.

"Don't worry! We have the cloak!" I say reassuringly. We turn the corner and throw the cloak over ourselves. James and Remus may be mad at me, but they would never leave me to go into Filtch's office alone.

We open the door and to our relief, the office is empty. Mrs. Norris follows us in. I think she can see through the cloak. She doesn't make a sound until I go to open one of the drawers. She meows loudly, and I know we only have seconds until Filtch shows up. He can't see us under the cloak, but he has a habit of locking his door when he leaves, and I really don't want to be locked in his office over night.

"We have to go!" James says. I close the door disappointed we didn't find the map, and we hurry out the door. Filtch shows up just like I thought, and he's clutching the map in his hand. I go to grab it, but James pulls my hand back. Too risky.

Mrs. Norrise meows at us again, and we run back to the common room. We're out of breath by the time we get there and decide to stay under the cloak to avoid questions. When we enter the room, Sam and Kaelin are rushing up the stairs.

I frown. What made them run up there like that? A few seconds later, my question is answered by Sam's frightened cry. "Lily!" her vice sounds panicked.

In about three seconds, James tore off the invisibility cloak surprising the entire room, rushed up the stairs after the girls, and came sliding back down on his butt looking furious.

I look at James and then at Remus. We're both trying hard not to laugh at our friend, but it's just too funny. Don't get me wrong, we're worried about Lily too, but seeing James like that is just hilarious.

James face is red from anger and embarrassment. The entire common room just witnessed their head boy and quidditch captain fall down the girls' staircase. The whole room is trying not to laugh.

"Prongs?" a soft voice calls down. Sam's voice. I find myself smiling just hearing it. "Prongs, can you get everyone out of the room please? Our head girl needs some space at the moment."

I'd like to say James acts like a mature and responsible head boy and calmly asked everyone to leave in an orderly fashion. I'd be lying. When it concerns his "Lily Flower" James can never be calm and mature.

"Everyone out right now or I'll hex you all!" he cries at the top of his lungs. A few first years look frightened and scurry out of the room. The rest of the room grumbles and moves slowly towards the door.

"That's right now! Move along, hurry up!" James says pushing some guy out the portrait. I shake my head. Seeing my best friend make a complete fool of himself for the girl he's been in love with since first year never gets boring.

As soon as everyone's gone, Sam and Kaelin lead a sobbing Lily down the steps. Her face is blotchy and red, and tears stream down her face. She doesn't protest like I thought she would. Lily's the kind of girl who hates to look weak in front of people.

"What happened?" I mouth to Sam. She shakes her head, and I assume she'll tell me later.

"She asked for you James," Kaelin says softly as they sit Lily down on the couch. I half expect James to pass out right there (it's been known to happen), but he doesn't. He nods calmly and sits down on the couch next to Lily looking hesitant.

Amazingly, Lily pulls her knees up to her chest and leans against James clinging to him like her life depends on it. James whispers something to her, and puts his arms around her lightly.

Sam motions for us to leave, and I take her hand. As we walk out of the portrait, I look back. James is having one of the happiest and saddest moments of his life right now.

We end up outside. It's dark now, and we shouldn't be outside this late, but we are anyways. It's chilly, but not unbearable. We sit by the lake on a big rock. Kaelin has tears in her eyes.

"Her parents died," Sam says softly. Remus looks shocked, but I expected it. Nothing makes Lily cry like that. I knew it was something really bad.

We don't say anything more on the subject, but Kaelin and Remus keep sending me pointed glances. They want me to tell Sam about the map. I know I should, but I really don't want her to get upset. I know she will once she hears the reason I lost it. Only Kaelin knows the real reason. I hadn't planned on telling anyone, but Kaelin wormed it out of me. I have to tell Sam.

When we've been sitting by the lake in silence for a while, I make my decision. "Sam. I have something to tell you," I say.

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><p>I am sooooooo sorry it took so long to update. I got really busy with school and homecoming. I'll have the next chapter out a lot sooner I promise. This chapter was kind of hard to write for some reason. The next one should be a lot better.<p>

Ok, so I know I said I'd have the next one out soon, but it's going to be a least a few days. I'm really sorry, but I need to straighten some things out first.


	18. Chapter 17

I do not own Harry Potter...sadly. I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I was having a really hard time writing this chapter. I can't make any promises on when I'll get the next one, but it will be soon.

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><p>Sirius<p>

"What?" Sam asks looking at me with her big blue eyes. There's something captivating about her eyes. When she looks at me with them, I sort of melt. If James were to hear me say that, I'd never live it down. I can imagine the conversation now.

_"You're losing your manliness Padfoot," he would say laughing. "Since when does Sirius Black let a girl run his life? Mr. Never Settle Down?"_

_ "Says the guy who can't look at a certain red haired girl without making a complete fool of himself," I'd retort. The rest of the conversation, James would remind me of everything he loves about Lily, and I'd tune him out._

I almost laugh at the thought; then I remember Sam's waiting for my answer. "N-never mind," I stumble over the words. Sam looks confused.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment," Kaelin says taking my arm and dragging me away. Once we're a safe distance away, she lets go.

I don't say anything. I know what's coming. "Sirius," she starts. That's when I know she's upset. She never calls me by my real name. Ever. "Why can't you tell her?"

"What if she gets mad?" I mumble quietly. I can't have Sam mad at me. I can't.

"Then she gets mad. Don't you think she'll be even more furious if she finds out from someone else?" she says. She has a point. "Just tell her exactly what you told me. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Ok," I say still uncertain. Kaelin drags me back to where Sam and Remus are sitting by the lake. She then takes Remus by his hand and pulls him off towards the castle with her.

When Sam and I are alone, she puts her head on my shoulder. For a few minutes, we sit in silence just watching the water in the lake ripple slowly. I put my arm around her wondering how to start the dreaded conversation.

As it turns out, I don't have to. Sam lifts her head up and looks me right in the eyes. "What were you going to tell me?" she asks, and by the tone of her voice, I can tell she's been thinking about it the whole time we've been sitting here.

I can't ignore her. I have to tell her. "Filtch got the map," I say looking away. She doesn't start screaming like I thought she would.

Instead, she calmly asks, "How?" Her words are soft, and I realize she's giving me a chance to explain before she gets mad.

"I gave it to him," I say. She doesn't say anything, and I seize the chance to explain. "I left it by this office so he'd read it, and it would insult him."

"Why Sirius?" I can hear a hint of disappointment in her voice, but it's not anger yet.

I stop. Kaelin said to tell her everything. I could make up some lie and pretend it never happened, but I can't lie to Sam. "It's been a month Sam. We've been doing great for an entire month, and I still can't get you to kiss me. I've tried to see your reasons, but I just can't seem to understand. You keep distancing yourself from me no matter what I do," I say. "I can't win."

"You promised we'd go slow," she reminds me. I nod.

"But not backwards. Lately, you hardly spend time with me anymore. You do everything you can to avoid being alone with me. I don't understand," I say. She looks away as if she's thinking.

Sam

I have been distancing myself from him, but I have my own reasons. I know I've been hurting him. I know I've been avoiding him, but he doesn't understand. I don't want to get hurt. "I just don't want to get hurt," I say finally. His eyes widen slightly.

"I would never hurt you Sam," he says, but I find it hard to believe him.

"How can you say that?" I demand. "You used to go around the school getting a new girlfriend every week. You'd wait until she thought you really liked her, and you'd break her heart. How am I any different than them? How long until you get bored with me too?"

I can see the pain in his eyes, but I don't care. I need an answer. He opens his mouth and closes it again. He knows I'm right. "That's what I thought," I say. "I can't do this anymore Sirius. I knew this wouldn't work from the moment I said yes. You'll never change. If you want a girl to kiss you so bad, then go find one of your stupid fan girls. Break her heart. I won't let you break mine."

With that, I stalk off towards the castle leaving him by the lake. I can feel the tears in my eyes, but I push them away. I had to do it. It was for the best. I wanted to go slow for a reason. I'm not mad at him. I'm disappointed.

When I asked him that question, I didn't expect an answer. Nothing he could have said would have changed a thing. It might have delayed this, but it would only have made it harder for both of us in the future.

From the moment he told me why he lost the map, I knew this was wrong. I'll never be special to him. I'm just another girl who fell for him and ended up heartbroken. I've learned now. I won't ever fall for that again. A guy like Sirius Black will never change no matter how much he says he will, or how much I want him to.

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><p>Please comment! I haven't been getting as many lately, and it's slightly discouraging. :) I hope to have the next chapter out within a few days or a week at most.<p> 


	19. Chapter 18

I do not own Harry Potter, but this is my new favorite chapter.

Sam

It's been three weeks since that night, and the pain doesn't lesson any. I avoid Sirius at all costs, but it's not easy. He tries to sneak up on me to talk, but I always manage to squirm away. I can't talk to him. Nothing he says can change a thing.

I know it's hard on the others. They try to spend time with both of us, but I'm not very appealing right now. I spend most of my time studying or in my dorm. Anything to avoid a run in with Sirius. Peter got so upset at us; he's started ignoring us both. Not that I really mind. One less person to annoy me.

I wish things could be different; I really do. Looking at Sirius makes me want to cry, but I don't. I've started slipping in my classes, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. My teachers are worried, and a few have made me stay for tutoring. My tutor is Jase. He knows something's wrong, but he doesn't pry. I keep quiet in our sessions, and he doesn't mind. I know Sirius doesn't like it, but it doesn't matter.

Yesterday, James and I went outside. He spends the least amount of time with me, but I don't blame him. Sirius is his best friend, and I don't expect that to change for me.

Everything went fine. We laughed and talked like nothing had changed. It helped a lot to pretend nothing was wrong. James is James though, and he eventually said something to ruin it. We were sitting at the top of a tree near the lake.

_"Sam when are you going to stop making yourself and Sirius miserable?" he said. "I know neither of you really want this." I ignored him and began to pick leaves off the branches._

_ "Sam," he said forcing me to stop ignoring him. I let go of the branch and looked at him dreading what was to come. "Listen to me. He's miserable. He's stopped eating, he spends all his time locked in our dorm, and he won't talk to anyone! He's my best friend, and I know the only thing that can fix this is you."_

_ I didn't say anything. "Look," he said. "I know you're upset, and you have good reason to be. It's true Sirius has had a lot of girlfriends and not cared about any of them. None of them meant anything to him. I remember that conversation you and I had about needing God in our lives. I think he was trying to fill that gap with girls instead of God. Pretty soon it just became who he is. He never meant to hurt you."_

_ "But he did," I mumbled. James sighed. _

_ "Yes, and he knows he messed up. In case you haven't noticed, he hasn't even looked at a girl in over a year. Since he fell in love with you," he said. Wait wait wait. Love? Who said anything about love? Sirius Black did not love me. If he did, this never would have happened. _

_ "I'll believe that when he tells me himself," I said. James rolled his eyes._

_ "He's been trying to! You won't let him anywhere near you!" James says. "You know what he's been doing locked up in our dorm? Reading that Bible you gave him two years ago. He's searching for answers Sam. He doesn't know what to do anymore."_

_ "You just don't get it James," I said. His eyes flashed like lightning. _

_ "I don't get it? You think I don't know what it's like to be hurt?" his voice was angry now. "I've been chasing the same girl for seven years, and she hurts me every single day! I know what it's like to want something I can't have. Every time she yells at me, or rejects me, or says she hates me, it kills me inside. _You _have no idea what that's like. If you're going to sit around feeling sorry for yourself instead of making things right, go ahead. But you're missing out on the one thing I would give anything to have." With that, he jumped from the tree and left without another word. _

_ After he left, I too jumped down and followed him. I don't know why I did it. I guess God wanted me to see the truth. I followed James up to his dormitory. He didn't see me, and I hid when he opened the door. I looked in expecting to see the usual: dirty clothes scattering the floor, candy wrappers, random junk. _

_ I was shocked at what I saw. The entire room was so clean it seemed to sparkle. The beds were made; clothes were folded and put neatly into trunks. James didn't bother to close the door and looking back, I think he knew I was there. On one of the beds, I found what I was looking for. _

_ Sirius sat on his clean bed with a book open in his lap. I didn't have to read it to know what it was. The Bible. Just like James said. He was furiously flipping through pages as if looking for something. He looked up and I shrunk behind the wall where I knew I couldn't be seen. Slowly, I inched back down the staircase thinking about what I just saw._

Today, Kaelin and I sit outside. It's Saturday, and warm out. I haven't seen Sirius all day, and I can't get James' words out of my head. Could Sirius really love me?

James hasn't spoken to me since yesterday, and he's avoiding me. Kaelin talks cheerfully about her date with Remus last weekend, but I'm hardly listening. All I can think about is what James said.

"Sammi!" Kaelin cries. I snap my head up and look at her. "Weren't you listening?" she asks exasperated.

I shake my head slightly avoiding her gaze. "Sorry," I mumble.

"Why don't you just stop this already? It's unhealthy!" she says, and I know she means make up with Sirius.

"You know why Kaelin," I say for the millionth time. Why won't anyone leave me alone? The truth was, after seeing Sirius with that Bible, I'm unsure of anything anymore.

"Sam, when are you going to stop fighting and just admit you're in love with the guy? You're only hurting him as well as yourself," she says softly. I stop. I can't be in love with Sirius. It would just make things more painful. There's no way I'm in love. No way.

Sirius

It's those times when I'm feeling lower than ever before that I'm glad I have James as a friend. I really don't know what I'd do without him. I definitely wouldn't have made it through that night alone.

_I was still sitting by the lake staring in shock and horror at the place where Sam had disappeared. A dull pain in my heart was all that remained. I wanted desperately to make things right, but I had no idea how. _

_ "Pads?" A voice came from behind me. I turned around slowly to see James standing there running a hand through his already messy hair as always. I almost smiled. Lily claimed to hate it when he did that, but I knew she loved it. _

_ "Yeah?" I mumbled not really in the mood to talk, but he sits beside me anyway. That's James. He'd never leave a friend behind no matter how much they wanted to be alone. _

_ "I heard what happened," he said. I didn't answer. "You okay?" I nodded, but he didn't seem convinced._

_ "What about Lily?" I asked wondering why he left her. He finally got her to accept him, and he left her crying in the middle of the common room. That's not like James. _

_ "You're my best friend Pads. There was no way I was going to leave you out here by yourself," he said. "Not even for Lily. She told me to come, but I would have come even if she had begged me to stay." _

_ "Why does it hurt so much Prongs?" I asked weakly. I would never have broken down like that if it weren't James. I knew he wouldn't judge me for it. He'd always been there for me even in my weakest states, and I knew he'd do it again. _

_ "It's called love Padfoot," he said solemnly. I froze and my eyes widened. Love? The moment the thought entered my mind I knew it was true. I was in love with Sam, and all it took was losing her for me to realize it. _

After that, I knew I had to tell her. Maybe it wouldn't change anything, but she had to know the way I felt about her. I tried for weeks. I took every chance I could to talk to her, but she always seemed to slip away before I got the chance.

James told me not to worry. She'd come around eventually, but I know she won't. If there's one thing I know about Sam, it's that she's stubborn. It was a week ago that I thought of it. I remembered my birthday two years ago. Sam handed me a wrapped gift and told me it would help if I ever needed anything. She said it was the one thing I could go to for answers to everything.

At the time, I thought it was a lie, but now I'm glad for it. I sit in my room pouring over the pages looking for the answers Sam promised it held. The Bible feels heavy in my hands, and I think about the day Sam took me to church.

It was only a few days after my family had disowned me, and she said it was something I needed. I thought it was stupid at first. That it was all a lie. There wasn't a God. I sat in the pew only half listening to what the man up front was saying. Then he said something I will never forget for as long as I live.

"Sometimes, though we may not realize it, the trials and sufferings the Lord sets out for us are mercies in disguise," he said. That one sentence stuck in my brain, and I never forgot it.

As I leaf through the Bible, that man's words replay themselves in my brain. I read for a long time before I get up and begin cleaning the room. I don't know why I do it, but I find myself picking up the trash, and folding everyone's clothes. It's not long before the room is sparkling.

I sit back down on the bed and pick up the Bible again. James comes in, but doesn't say anything. I ignore him and continue to read. I don't fully understand everything I'm reading, but I try to make sense of what I can.

I hear a noise by the open door and look up, but no one's there. I go back to reading hoping I can find the answers I'm looking for. Hoping maybe God will tell me how to get Sam back.

Please review! 


	20. Chapter 19

I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p>Sirius<p>

The full moon is rising once again. I really don't want to see Sam, but there's no way I'm going to let Remus down. I have to face her sometime. I've tried to ignore her lately. Just seeing her is too painful. I want more than anything to talk to her. To tell her how I feel, but she won't listen.

The moon is just beginning to rise, and Remus has already gone down to the shrieking shack. I wait by the Whomping Willow for the others. James and Lily have been getting along great lately. James decided last night he wants Lily to know what we are. He ran it by us first, and I suggested he show her. He's bringing Lily tonight, and we're going to show her our animagi forms before we go with Remus.

I came early to avoid the uncomfortable walk with Sam down here. I'm getting frustrated with the way she ignores me. She won't even acknowledge my presence anymore. Kaelin says she's just upset, and she'll get over it, but I don't want her to just get over it. I want her to feel the same way about me that I feel about her.

The sound of shuffling feet gets my attention. Snape is walking towards me with a sneer on his face. "Sam still mad at you?" he asks in an unsympathetic voice. "I don't blame her. Everyone's heard what you do to girls. How many have you slept with this week?"

I have never slept with a girl in my life. I wouldn't. I may get all the girls and do some stupid stuff, but I wouldn't sleep with them. I know the rumors. I know what people think, but it's not all true. I'll be the first to say I've made some big mistakes, and I've done some stupid stuff, but I'm not like that.

When I don't answer, Snape just smirks. "It's a full moon," he comments. "Where does Remus go every month anyway?"

Now me being the guy I am have to have a stupid remark. I'll regret what I say later, but it doesn't stop me from saying, " Why don't you go find out? Just press that knot," I say pointing at the small knot on the trunk of the tree. Snape's eyes widen, but he grabs a long stick and pokes the tree. It freezes, and Snape smiles.

Without a word, he slips down into the tunnel. The branches begin to move again just as James and Lily come around the corner with Sam and Kaelin right behind them. Sam averts her eyes from me pointedly ignoring me-again. I want so bad to grab her in my arms right now, but I know I can't.

"Padfoot? What are you doing here so early?" James asks. I shrug. "I thought I heard Snape. What did he want?"

"I've done something terrible," I whisper as reality sets in. James looks at me like I've lost it, which I probably have. See what being in love does to you?

"What?" he asks. A piercing scream splits the air, and his eyes widen in realization. "Padfoot! What have you done?" He tears off towards the tree. Lily's eyes widen and she cries out in protest.

"James!" she calls out, but stops when she sees him transform mid jump. James tears past the flailing tree limbs and bursts into the tunnel.

"Sirius what did you do?" Sam demands.

"I'm sorry okay? I was upset!" I say taking off after James. I feel the familiar body of the shaggy black dog. Lily's eyes widen even farther if possible, and I see Sam and Kaelin transform behind me.

I follow James down the tunnel, and we burst into the shack. I can hear Snape screaming, and Remus growling. Remus has Snape backed into a corner almost crying while he tries to rip out his throat. Peter scurries around the room squeaking in panic. He'd gone down early with Remus.

James and I jump at Remus, knocking him away from Snape, and James pushes him against the wall with his antlers. Remus snarls and tries to break free, but James holds him tight.

I grab Snape by the back of his robes and pull him into the hallway. He's heavy and struggling to get away from me. I almost let go when he smacks me in the head, but a small paw shoots out and scratches Snape. He howls in pain, and I can carry him easier.

Sam grabs his robes and helps me pull him down the tunnel and into the moonlight. Lily is sitting on a rock looking shocked and worried. We let Snape go, and he jumps up. "Sirius Black! Wherever you are, I'll have you expelled for this! And Lupin too!" he says before running off towards the castle.

I cringe inside. I've messed up terribly. I'll be surprised if Dumbledore doesn't have me arrested much less expelled. Poor Remus. He's going to freak when he finds out he almost killed Snape. I'm not looking forward to meeting him anytime soon. Kaelin and James are still down there, as well as Peter.

Sam changes back into her human self and walks over to Lily. I follow suit morphing back into myself as well. "You okay?" she asks Lily. Lily nods shakily.

"You guys really did all this for Remus?" she asks. We nod. "That's amazing. He's lucky to have friends like you guys."

"We weren't going to let him suffer alone," I say lightly.

"Is Severus okay?" she asks quietly. Ever since fifth year when he called her a mudblood, they haven't spoken, but I know she still worries about him.

"He's fine. Mad, but fine," I say. Sam doesn't look at me, and Lily must notice because she suddenly stands up.

"I have homework to do. Tell James I'll talk to him tomorrow," she says leaving. We nod, and she leaves us alone. I realize now is my chance to tell Sam the truth. I can fix things if she'll listen.

Sam

The silence is awkward at first. Sirius seems to be fighting an internal battle, and I'm at a loss for what to say. I want to fix things between us. Sirius acted incredibly stupid, but also incredibly brave. I can't help but glance at him as he stands there. I have to say something.

"Sirius?" I say unsure how to begin. He doesn't answer. At first I think he's ignoring me, so I glance over at him.

My eyes widen. His face has gone deathly pale, and he looks ready to pass out. "Sirius!" I say urgently. He moans slightly before collapsing to he ground. The sleeve of his shirt moves slightly, and I see the large bite mark on his arm. Red blood pours from the messy wound.

I drop down onto the ground beside him, and examine the bite. It looks bad, and he's not moving. I can see the faint rise and fall of his chest meaning he's still breathing thank the Lord.

I levitate him into the air with my wand, and slowly bring him up to the castle. I take off my jacket and wrap it around his arm to try and stop the bleeding. I get him to the hospital wing fairly easily and put him gently on one of the beds.

Madame Pomphrey screeches when she sees him. "What happened?" she demands. I think quickly searching for an excuse.

"He-he was bit by a dog," I say half truthfully. Thankfully, she believes me.

"Honestly, between the six of you, I'm never going to get any rest," she complains taking out a small bottle. She slowly pours the liquid onto the wound, and it begins to bubble.

"That's no ordinary dog wound," she mumbles mostly to herself, and I silently pray she won't ask any questions. She looks out the window, and I notice her watching the full moon. I get the feeling she knows we aren't telling her everything.

After a few minutes, she backs away. "I've done all I can. You're welcome to stay with him. Call me if there are any changes," she says scurrying away to the next patient.

I sit down in the chair beside his bed and take his hand. I don't know why. "Sirius Black, don't you dare die on me," I warn him. He doesn't stir. I take a deep breath before continuing.

"I know you can't hear me, but I have to tell you something," I start. "I was wrong about what I said before. About you getting bored with me. I know it wasn't true." I hear footsteps behind me, but I don't care. I have to finish what I'm saying.

"Sirius, I was scared. I was scared that you would stop liking me after a few weeks, and I was scared I would lose you. I couldn't bare it if I lost you, but what I said didn't help anything. I lost you anyways," I say. "I understand if you're mad at me. I understand if we can't make things work anymore, but I have to try."

He doesn't move. "I need you Sirius. I can't keep going on like you don't exist. I-I love you." The words come out before I can stop them, and Sirius' eyes shoot open.

"Y-you do?" he asks shocked. I nod shocked that he was listening. "I love you too Sam." He squeezes my hand, and I remember I'm still holding his.

Without thinking, I swiftly lean down and press my lips to his. He hesitates, but responds enthusiastically. The kiss is short but enough for me. I pull back and look right into his eyes. "How long were you listening?" I ask.

"I heard every word," he says quietly. Laughter sounds from behind me, and I spin around to see James and Kaelin snickering behind us.

"Finally!" Kaelin screeches. "I thought you two would never work things out!"

"What kind of kiss was that Padfoot?" James says. "Pathetic!" Sirius throws a pillow at him hitting him in the head.

"Shut it Mr. Can't get the love of his life to like him back," Sirius says. Remus comes in then looking wearier then ever, and I assume Kaelin told him what happened.

Sirius looks frightened all of a sudden, and he pulls me down by my wrist. I land on the bed beside him. "Protect me," he whispers fearfully. I shake my head.

"Oh, no," I say. "You brought this on yourself." His eyes widen, but Remus doesn't kill him just yet.

"I'll deal with you later," he says to Sirius who looks calmer now.

"Is Snape okay?" he asks quietly. I nod.

"He's fine," I say honestly. "It wasn't your fault Moony. It was this idiot's." I point to Sirius who looks taken aback.

"I thought you loved me?" he says shocked.

"I'm a monster. I should be expelled," Remus says quietly. I look to Kaelin nodding at her to take over from here.

"Remus you're not a monster. You're the sweetest, kindest guy I've ever met," she says. "You had no control over what you did tonight."

"Kaelin, I could have killed him. How can you even look at me? I could just as easily do that to anyone of you guys," he says looking at the ground.

Then Kaelin does something no one expects. Not even caring that the rest of us are watching, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses him. Remus looks shocked, and Kaelin quickly pulls away. Both turn bright red, but Kaelin's eyes sparkle.

"Remus Lupin, I love you more than anything in the whole world. I don't care what you are," she says. "If Dumbledore wants to expel you, he'll have to go through me first."

"I love you too Kaelin," Remus whispers. "So much." Kaelin hugs him tightly, and James sighs loudly.

"Don't worry about me! I'll jut sit over here all by my lonely self! Unloved. Unwanted," he goes on and on dramatically. The door to the hospital wing opens and Lily dashes in.

She quickly kisses James on the cheek. "Yes," she says before dashing out again. James is left with his eyes wide open looking as if he just won the lottery and was struck by lightning at the same time.

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><p>So? Watcha think? I decided to make something happy for everyone. :) Next chapter coming out soon!<p> 


	21. Chapter 20

I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p>Sam<p>

Once the others leave, with James still muttering on about Lily, Sirius and I stay up and talk late into the night. He apologizes many times saying he's sorry for hurting me. After the fifth time, I smack him and tell him if he apologizes one more time, I'm leaving and not coming back. He shuts up after that.

I fall asleep around four AM, in the chair beside his bed. He tries to get me to share his bed, but I refuse of course. Then he tries to take the chair himself, but I remind him who the patient here is.

After a few minutes of arguing, and a well-placed sleeping spell, Sirius sleeps soundly, and I get my way. Madame Pomphrey glances at me grateful for shutting up the annoyance that is keeping her awake.

The sun shines brightly through the window waking me up. I sit up slowly and rub the sleep from my eyes. Sirius is still passed out on his bed, thanks to me, and I'm about to ask one of the house elves helping Madame Pomphrey for some breakfast when the door suddenly bangs open.

Dumbledore strides in with a smirking Snape trailing behind him. The noise startles Sirius awake and he bolts upright mumbling something about marshmallow bunnies. Ignoring the absurd comment, Dumbledore speaks calmly. "Mr. Black. Miss. Andrews," he says. "Might I have a word?"

Sirius pales considerably when he realizes what's happening. We nod, and I grab Sirius' hand helping him up from his bed. "Mr. Snape. I believe you should go back to your dormitory now," Dumbledore says as he ushers us from the room.

Snape looks disappointed, but reluctantly obeys. Sirius and I follow Dumbledore down the hall to his office. Sirius squeezes my hand lightly. James, Lily, Peter, Remus, and Kaelin are waiting for us once we get to the office. Remus looks terrified, and I know the same thought is running through everyone's mind.

Sirius keeps his head low unable to look at his friends as we slowly walk up the stairs. It's my turn to give him a reassuring look. He isn't alone in this. He never will be.

Dumbledore sits at his desk leaving the seven of us to make a semicircle around him. Fawkes caws in greeting. We've been in this office so many times; Fawkes has become somewhat of a friend.

The moment Dumbledore opens his mouth everyone begins to speak at once.

Sirius

I'm terrified when we go to the office. I just know I'm going to be expelled. The worst part is, I really let Remus down. If he gets expelled because of me, I'll never forgive myself.

Dumbledore sits at his desk and everyone begins to speak at once…except Remus and I. We sit quietly and await the inevitable.

"Remus is innocent sir," Kaelin says quickly. "He didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"Sirius didn't mean to get Snape hurt Professor," Sam shoots back. "He wasn't thinking."

"Sir, Sirius would never hurt someone on purpose!" James chimes in.

"Remus wouldn't hurt a fly!" that was Peter. It seemed my friends were divided. Each stuck up for one, but none for both.

"Remus couldn't control himself!" Kaelin says. She's glaring at Sam.

"Sirius was in a bad mood," Sam says glaring at Kaelin. "He made a simple mistake."

The two girls look ready to rip each other's throats out. James and Peter are also not on good terms. It's times like these; I wish I'd been nicer to the little guy.

"At least Sirius and I saved Snape!" James says.

"He wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for Sirius!" Kaelin retorts.

Then Lily speaks. "Sir, Sirius had a lack of better judgment, and did something he shouldn't. I think we can all agree he was extremely brave when he realized his mistake and saved Snape. Remus did nothing wrong other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said. "To expel either of them would be a mistake on your part I think." Have I ever mentioned how much I love Lily?

Sam, Kaelin, James, and Peter are still fighting when Dumbledore clears his throat. "I'm not expelling either of them," he says. They stop yelling at each other.

"Y-you're not?" I ask quietly.

"No, but I must stress the seriousness of what you've done Mr. Black. If not for the help of Mr. Potter here, Severus could have been gravely injured, perhaps even killed," he says. Remus hangs his head lower.

"I'm sorry Sir," I say.

"Mr. Lupin, I called you here to make sure you understand this was not your fault," he says. Remus nods.

"Now, I believe breakfast has just ended, and you all have classes to get to. Mr. Black you will receive detention with Mr. Filtch for two weeks. Seven o clock every night," Dumbledore says. "Now go, and don't be late."

Appalled at my luck, I practically skip out of the office. Once at the bottom, Kaelin turns to glare at James and Sam and I. "You should have been expelled," she says icily before taking Remus' hand a stalking away with Peter trotting along behind them.

Sam and James look shocked at Kaelin's statement, and Lily too looks surprised. "I'm sure she'll b fine," Lily says, but Sam doesn't look so sure. I know this is the first time she and Kaelin have ever fought.

It appears, that for the first time in history, the marauders have split up…and it's entirely my fault.

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><p>I am sooooo sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt like I needed to end it here. The next chapter will be out really soon…maybe tomorrow….maybe today.<p> 


	22. Chapter 21

I do not own Harry Potter...

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><p>Sam<p>

Kaelin won't speak to me. It's been three days since our fight, and she's been avoiding me at all cost. I've seen her mad before, but never at me. Classes have been torture watching her glare in my direction. Sometimes I just want to cry.

She won't speak to me, or James, or Sirius. Poor Lily is caught in the middle, and Peter follows Kaelin like a lost puppy.

Remus isn't mad at anyone. I know he's upset about the whole thing, but he doesn't blame Sirius. He only sides with Kaelin because he loves her, and I don't expect anything different. I would do the same thing.

I remember the last thing Kaelin said to me.

_I was walking to the common room alone from dinner. Sirius had detention, and James was with Lily. They had offered to come with me, but I knew they didn't really want to. I was happy they finally got together, so I told them to go. It didn't take much convincing. _

_ I was just about to turn the corner to the portrait when Kaelin stepped out from the shadows. It was only the first day she was mad, but it felt like a week. I missed her so much. _

_ Her eyes were filled with fire, and her voice with rage when she spoke. "This is all Padfoot's fault," she says. _

_ "He fixed things Kaelin. He got detention, and Moony was let off. What's the problem?" I was a little annoyed with how she'd been acting._

_ "What's the problem? Snape has been telling all the Slytherins what Remus is! That's the problem!" she screeched. "Remus won't even leave the common room except for classes. They're torturing him!"_

_ "Dumbledore would never allow Snape to tell people!" I said. _

_ "He forbade him from telling the school after he'd already told his friends. The whole house of Slytherin knows now!" she said. _

_ How is that Sirius' fault? He didn't know that would happen!" I said my voice rising with anger. _

_ "It's his fault Snape knows in the first place. I'm giving you a choice Sam. It's me or him," she said. "I can't forgive him and if you're going to be on his side, I can't forgive you either. James made his decision, now you make yours."_

_ I gaped at her appalled. Could she really expect me to choose between my best friend and the guy I'd just recently discovered I was in love with? The look on her face said she could and she would. "I choose him," I said simply. Her gaze faltered for a moment, and I didn't miss the look of sorrow on her face, but she quickly turned back to her stony expression._

_ "I knew it," she said sadly. "Do you even care about our friendship at all?" I gasped as she turned around stalking off. _

_ "Kaelin!" I yelled after her. She spun around just long enough to fix a cold glare on me before throwing something to the ground and stomping away. _

_ I bent down and picked up the fallen object holding it in my hand and feeling the tears well up in my eyes. Our friendship appeared to be over. _

Now, three days later, I sit in the astronomy tower just staring out at the lake. A small bracelet is clasped in my hand identical to the one on my wrist. Kaelin bought them for us in our first year and made me swear never to take it off. We both held to that rule, and it hasn't come off my wrist since.

They're charm bracelets, and we buy new charms for them every time we find a memory worth remembering together. Our most recent are a small bird for hers and a small cat for mine.

The bracelet is almost entirely filled up, and each one holds a painful reminder of the friendship Kaelin and I used to have. It hurts so much to look at it.

Footsteps on the stairs indicate Sirius' return. He had to leave for his detention, but promised to come back. I rarely leave the tower since that night. He comes over to stand beside me wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer.

"You didn't have to choose me you know," he whispers for the millionth time. I sigh.

"You know I had to," I say. "I love you." He smiles.

"I love you too," he says kissing my forehead.

Sirius

It kills me to see Sam so upset. I know I'm the reason she's hurting, but there's nothing I can do. Remus has tried calming her down, but she's too stubborn to admit she's not mad anymore.

Sam sits on the railing of the tower, and I wrap my arms protectively around her. Lightening flashes in the distance and I feel her stiffen. She's terrified of thunderstorms. She's only ever told Kaelin and I this. I have a feeling James has figured it out by now, and probably Remus too, they're not stupid, but she only trusted two people with her secret.

Thunder claps loudly and she shrieks jumping and losing her balance. I lose my grip on her and she tumbles off the railing falling towards the ground. I yell her name scrambling to find my wand.

I just get my wand out when I hear someone shout something and Sam stops mid fall. She drifts slowly downwards before hitting the ground softly. I notice an old broomstick against the wall and grab it soaring down to her.

Someone else beats me his or her wand in hand crying Sam's name out. Tears spill down her face. It's Kaelin. "Sammi! Are you okay?" she cries. Sam looks shocked to see her, and I am too.

"I'm okay," she says softly.

Kaelin hugs her tightly. "I'm so sorry Sam. I was wrong okay? I miss you so much, and I can't let this ruin our friendship," she says. I smile stepping back now that I know Sam's okay.

Sam hugs Kaelin back. "I forgive you Kaelin. On one condition," she warns.

"Anything," Kaelin says.

"You forgive Sirius," she says. Kaelin looks over at me before jumping on me and hugging me tightly. She lets go and I can breath again.

"I'm so sorry Padfoot, she says. I hug her back.

"I forgive you," I say simply. I'm just happy Sam and Kaelin are happy again.

Sam hands Kaelin her bracelet and Kaelin clasps it back on her wrist. The friendship is back, and the whole day seems to brighten up. The strom lifts and the girls practically skip back to the castle. I follow them shaking my head thanking the good Lord I'm not a girl.

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><p>I have officially decided how this is going to end! Only a few more chapters left! I'm gonna be so sad when this story is over...<p> 


	23. Chapter 22

I do not own Harry Potter...

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><p>Sam<p>

As the end of the year draws nearer, we grow sadder. Tomorrow we go home for Easter and then it's only a month until we're done for good. I'm going to miss Hogwarts so much.

Sirius is very reserved lately. I think he's scared I'll back out again, but I won't. I couldn't handle not being with him. I haven't kissed him since that night, and he hasn't tried to kiss me either.

Kaelin and Remus are better than ever. They still take things slow, and Kaelin keeps her Christianity a big part of the relationship. They're adorable when they're all cuddled up on the couch by the fire.

I've never seen James happier than he's been in the last few weeks. He never stops smiling, and Lily is always with him wherever he goes. I knew they were meant for each other. Anyone can tell they love each other.

Lily has been hanging out with Kaelin and I a lot more, and we have a lot in common. We spend most nights in our room staying up late and talking.

Peter is Peter. He's pretty much stopped hanging out with us lately. He occasionally trails along behind us, but I know it's weird for him because we've all gotten together now. I know he feels left out, so I try to include him, but he doesn't seem to want to do anything anymore.

Today, it's warm, and we have no classes. We've been outside since early this morning enjoying the sunshine. Kaelin, Lily, and I put on shorts and tank tops to sun ourselves, but the boys convinced us to go swimming with them. We played around in the cool water for a while. Once we got tired, we sat out on a large rock, and the boys kept playing.

We're still sitting on this very same rock almost an hour later. I've only just gotten dry, and I can still hear the guys splashing each other. This is one of those rare days Peter came with us, and I can tell he's having a great time hanging out with his friends again.

The warm sunshine is beating down on me, and I'm enjoying it. The yelling and splashing stops suddenly, and I'm worried. I lift my head up to see the guys grinning at us. I shake Kaelin and Lily and they too sit up.

The boys begin to walk closer, and we scream. I jump up from the rock just as Sirius runs after me. I run away from my sopping boyfriend, but he closes in quickly, and grabs my waist. His wet hair clings to his face and he smiles picking me up wedding style.

"Smile," he says just as James clicks a small camera. "Now one of everyone!" We all gather around even Peter and James sets the camera up. He runs back to the group putting his arm around Lily just before the flash. Then they all take off.

"Sirius!" I yell as he carries me to the water. His wet t-shirt is soaking my clothes. He ignores me cries and steps onto the dock. My eyes widen when I realize what he's about to do. I thrash around wildly screaming at him to put me down. He smirks as he jumps off the edge and we both hit the water.

I sink like a rock at first, but I kick away from Sirius and begin to stroke up towards the surface. I come up out of the water gasping for air with Sirius right beside me grinning. "The water's nice," he remarks casually.

I smack his arm and notice Kaelin has been dragged into the water despite her protests as well. She smacked Remus the same way I smacked Sirius. Lily is still putting up a fight, but James held her tightly by the waist. She eventually gives up and James throws her off the dock and jumps in after her.

"I was just getting dry!" Kaelin whines.

"Come on Kaelin! Have some fun!" Sirius calls to her. I laugh ducking back under the water. Sirius lifts me up catching me by the waist once more.

"Let me go!" I cry.

"Lighten up!" he says kissing me softly. I can't help but smile now, and he looks happier than ever.

"Hey love birds! Come join the fun!" James calls grinning. I sigh wondering what possessed James to ruin everything before swimming over to the others. This has turned out to be one of the best days of my life.

Sirius

My day couldn't be any better. I've gone so slowly with Sam lately. I've been so scared of losing her. Today changes things. I finally kiss her like I've been wanting to for weeks since the Hospital Wing, and she smiles.

We swim over to the others who are splashing each other again. To any passersby, we probably look like a bunch of five year olds, but we don't care. This is our idea of fun.

Peter has been so distant lately, but today, he's back to the old Peter. He has fun, and I know he feels slightly left out being the only single one, but he covers it pretty well.

Tomorrow we leave for Easter. I'm going to Sam's as always, but this time will be different. Sam wants to tell her parents about us now. I know her mom will be overjoyed and fuss over us until we leave, but I'm afraid of what her dad will say.

I know he told me to go for it, but now that I have, will he change his mind? Will he suddenly decide I'm not good enough for his daughter? I couldn't bear it if that happens. I'll have to just stop worrying about it. Sam's happy, and that's all that matters to me.

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It won't be long before we're out of Hogwarts for good. To be honest, it's a little frightening. I know I'll have a place to stay once I'm out, but I can't stay with Sam's parents forever. Soon I'll have to get a job and a place for myself.

I'm not sure I'm ready to grow up just yet. If I could freeze this one moment in time, I'd do it in a heartbeat. All of my favorite people in the same place having the time of their lives. It doesn't get any better, and with Voldemort rising like he is, I know there won't be too many more of these moments. I don't think I can let all this go just yet.

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><p>Only a few more chapters...so sad. :( But they will be good chapters! Way better than the one b4 this which was stupid I know :) Hopefully long too.<p> 


	24. Extra

**Ok, I have a question for everyone. I have an idea for a sequel for Mercies In Disguise. Do you want a sequel? Or do you want me to just end it? The sequel would be called _Losing Hope_.**

**Here's the short description: Two years after graduation, Voldemort is rising, and the war has begun. Things are looking bad, and baby Harry is on the way! When things take a twist in the wrong direction, can the marauders ever recover? Sequel to Mercies In Disguise! Read that first!**

**So? Do you want it? Please Review and Tell me asap!**


	25. Chapter 23

**I now present, the end of Mercies In Disguise.** I don't own Harry Potter by the way. This is the longest chapter of the whole story!

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><p><strong>Sam<strong>

I can hardly believe how fast this year went by. Graduation is here, and tonight will be our last in the castle. The ceremony will be held at dusk. Dumbledore has something special planned this year.

For the first time ever, parents get to come to the ceremony. Even muggles. My parents were ecstatic when they found out. They've always wanted to see the castle. They got here this morning by floo powder. I remember how shocked they were at the whole ordeal. It was rather amusing.

Sirius and I have agreed to tell them about us today. We've kind of avoided them so far, but meeting them will be inevitable. Sirius doesn't seem worried, but I'm terrified of what my dad's going to say. Mom will love it, but you never know with dad.

Dumbledore has all the parents in the great hall all day. Who knows what they're doing, but this gives the rest of us a chance to have some last minute freedom. James and Sirius snuck into Hogsmeade for something. Sirius wasn't supposed to tell me, but he did. A very jumpy James has sworn me to secrecy. Sometimes I wonder what goes through that boy's head.

Remus took Kaelin off somewhere, so that left Lily, Peter, and I. Peter almost immediately ditched us muttering something about his room. I think the thought of being with us scares him. I don't get what is so scary about two teenage girls. As long as you don't get on our bad side, there's nothing to worry about! Come to think of it, Peter has been on our bad sides a few times. That's enough o scare anyone! Lily and I decide to finish up packing, so we don't have to do it later.

I'm about halfway done, so there's not a lot to do. I begin throwing my stuff into my bag randomly while Lily takes her time and folds everything putting it in its proper place. She sighs loudly at my packing skills. "Couldn't you be a bit neater?" she asks. I laugh.

"Nope! I'm dating Sirius. There's no time to be neat with him," I say laughing. She smiles.

"That boy is always rushing around somewhere. Did you see the way he dragged James to Hogsmeade? I wonder what they're up to," Lily says. I grin and shrug.

"Who knows with them," I say. I finish throwing the rest of my stuff in the trunk and snap it closed. "You finished?"

"Almost," she says neatly placing the last book in her trunk. "Let's go." We jump up and dash out the door. A look at the clock suggests it's almost five. It's time to find Sirius and face the wrath of my parents.

Lily and I walk around the castle looking for our missing boyfriends. They should be back by now. We find Kaelin and Remus in the Astronomy Tower. They're laughing over something and look adorable, so we quietly back out trying not to disturb them.

We find the boys by the great hall. They seem to be waiting for us. James won't look at me as I grin widely, but Sirius takes my hand and entwines it with his. "You ready?" he asks.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I say laughing a bit. "Can't avoid them forever." Sirius cracks open the door, and we see all the parents standing around sharing drinks and chatting with each other. A few students dart around. My parents are over in the corner with Kaelin's. They still don't look completely comfortable around all these wizards.

Deciding the best way to do this, is to just do it, Sirius and I walk over with James and Lily behind us. My mom sees us first and beams. "Hi Sammi!" she exclaims. "Can you believe you graduating already?"

"I know. It went by so fast," I say. Then she notices Sirius. Then our hands. Her eyes widen slowly as she realizes.

"Oh my gosh," she cries. "Are you? No way." She sounds like a teenager again, but that's my mother.

"Yeah, we are," I say shyly. Sirius puts his arm around my waist protectively, and I look over at my dad. His expression is unreadable. For a moment, I'm worried, until he smiles a bit.

"About time," he says. I grin. That was so much better than it could have been. Kaelin's parents are smiling too.

"Our girls are growing up too fast," Kaelin's dad declares. He and my dad are great friends. We've lived next door to each other since third year when Kaelin moved to be closer to another witch.

"Where is Kaelin by the way?" her mom asks. I smirk.

"Off with Remus," I say casually. Her mother looks worried, but I quickly assure her they're okay. Her mother has always been more of the worry type.

"Well, I'm just glad they got guys who we can trust right?" my dad says. "For now." He looks at Sirius pointedly.

"Don't worry, Padfoot here wouldn't hurt our Sammi," James says. "If he did, he'd have the rest of us to deal with."

My mother catches sight of Lily. Then her hand. Then James. She looks from James to Lily and back again. She opens her mouth and closes it. Then opens it again. She's in shock.

"Oh, did I mention Lily finally said yes?" James says laughing. My mother's eyes widen before she jumps on them both engulfing them in a fierce hug. I'm so glad I escaped that. Whenever James came to my house, mom was the only one who would listen to him ramble on about Lily without whining or slapping him. She seemed genuinely interested in the fiery redhead.

"I'm so happy for you both. James is a really great guy Lily," she says. I laugh. Mom's only seen the polite side of James, and that side is a handful. If she saw his hyper side, she might not be saying this. Dad shakes his head laughing.

Kaelin and Remus come through the door then. Kaelin has her head on his shoulder, and she's laughing about something. She sees her parents and lets go of his hand before bounding over to join us.

"Hi guys," she says excitedly. "The ceremony is starting!" She's right. The lights have dimmed and everyone is heading to their seats. We make our way to the front row leaving our parents in the back. James spots his parents somewhere in the middle and waves to them grinning and holding up his hand which is still entwined with Lily's.

His mother's eyes widen is shock and his dad grins sending him a thumbs up. Lilly's face turns slightly red. I know she misses her parents. Her sister didn't even come.

We take our seats in the front, and Dumbledore steps up to the podium. "Another year gone, and for some it was their last," he begins. "I trust all of our seventh years have had a fitting last year. From what I've seen, it sure seems like it."

We all laugh. Dumbledore sees everything. That much is clear. This year, he has a surprise. One he hasn't even told McGonagall. I can't wait to see it.

"All of our students have exceeded profoundly in their studies, and I wish them well in whatever they choose to do. Memories are some of the greatest things a person can make, and I wish to show you all a few," he announces raising his wand. The room darkens even further, and sparks fly from his wand.

Fireworks explode in the air, and each one is a picture from this year. I laugh when I see one of Sirius and James getting caught in a prank by Filch. Another shows Kaelin and I skipping to class after a serious sugar rush. There are so many memories from our years here at Hogwarts. James pretending to propose to Lily in hopes of winning her heart, Lily hexing James after said attempt, Sirius and James blowing up the pumpkins on Halloween of our third year, me asleep against Sirius on the train ride this year, Kaelin and Remus on a midnight walk holding hands, James' victory dance when Lily said yes, they go on and on. My favorite was the most recent. All of us by the lake, happy and together. I wonder how Dumbledore got that picture until I see McGonagall holding a small camera identical to the one James had that day. It's the best memory ever. I almost cry when I see it, and Sirius squeezes my hand.

"Mr. Potter and Miss. Evans have quite a history together. Seven years he chased after that poor girl, and seven years she refused. Hundreds of times she said no, and the one time she didn't. Miss. Evans would probably deny this, but she was doomed to fall for him from the very beginning," Dumbledore says with a chuckle. Lily turns red when they show a picture of her and James holding hands.

"Love is a powerful thing. No matter how many trials and hardship a couple goes through, love will always prevail. Take Mr. Black and Miss. Andrews for example," Dumbledore says. Seven pictures pop up, each of Sirius and I from year one to now. Looking at them, I'm surprised to see how much we appear to be a couple even from first year. I guess we were cursed to end up together. "Even back in first year, I knew they would end up together. Call it intuition if you must." He smiles and looks at us.

"Many memories have been made in this castle, and I hope these students will make many more as they go throughout life. Remember this: You never know what you can accomplish until you try," Dumbledore says stepping down. With that, the ceremony ends, and half of the room is in tears. Kaelin buries her had in Remus' shoulder sobbing.

Our time at Hogwarts is really over. Tomorrow, we leave for good. The thought is enough to reduce me to tears, and Sirius puts his arm around me. We all made an agreement to meet at the lake after, so Sirius and I head down there.

**Sirius**

Sam and Kaelin aren't the only ones upset about leaving. I don't think I can. My whole life is here. I don't know what I'm going to do without this place. All those memories shown, they were the best moments of my life.

My best friends were made here, and I can't lose any of them. Not even Peter, who is mostly annoying. I see McGonagall as we leave, and she even ha a few tears. No matter how many times she said I would be the death of her, or gave me detention, she was like a grandmother to me. I'm going to miss everything about this place.

Sam and I sit down by the lake waiting for the others. It's dark out by now, and the stars shine brightly. She lays her head on my chest and we just lie there. "Sirius?" she asks.

"Yeah?" I say.

"I don't want to grow up yet," she says quietly. I look down at her and her eyes are filled with tears. "I'm not ready for all this to end."

"Hey, even though we won't be at Hogwarts anymore doesn't mean this has to end. Like Dumbledore said, we're going to make even more memories out of here," I say. "We're the marauders. We stick together. Always. I'll never leave you Sam. No matter what, I'll be here. Always." She smiles a bit.

"As long as you're there, I'll be okay," she says. The others are coming now, so we get up and wait. James is fidgeting horribly, and his eyes dart around nervously. I shake my head and silently will him to calm down. He's so jumpy; he'll never be able to do it at this rate.

Lily and Kaelin are laughing over something, and Remus and Peter are quiet. I glance at James again, and he looks at me helplessly. I give him my best you'll be fine look. He comes over away from the others.

"I can't do this Pads," he says quietly. I sigh.

"Prongsie, yes you can. You have to," I say. "You'll be fine." He shakes his head.

"But what if-" he starts.

"Prongs. Do it," I say.

"Now?"

"Yes now!"

"But-"

Now!"

"Okay," he says. "I can do this." He takes a deep breath, and once everyone has calmed down, he takes Lily's hand once more. He looks over and me again, and I grin.

Sam smiles widely, as she knows what's happening. Kaelin beams, and I assume Sam told her. Remus and Peter seem to understand as well, and everyone is quiet. Lily looks confused.

James gets down on one knee, and she gasps covering her mouth with her hand. He pulls out a small box from his pocket. I helped him pick it out earlier this morning.

"Lily, for seven years I've chased after you. It wasn't until you said yes, that I was sure I loved you. I never want to let you go. You mean the world to me," he says. "Will you marry me?" He opens the box and the diamond ring glints in the moonlight.

Lily just stands there speechless. "Well? Don't leave him waiting Lilyflower! It took me three days to convince him to ask you!" I say loudly. She laughs.

"Of course James," she says, and he jumps up grabbing her by the waist and kissing her. The rest of us cheer loudly as she puts the ring on her finger. James grins widely.

Our last night at Hogwarts, and it turns out to be one of the best. I grin at Sam, and Kaelin has tears in her eyes. Remus is smiling, and even Peter is beaming. Kaelin, Sam and Lily begin to talk weddings, and I laugh. Leave it to those girls to plan everything right away.

"See Jamsie, I told you she'd say yes!" I say. After three days of me practically begging him, she better say yes! I look back at the castle, and I swear I can see a Dumbledore shaped shadow in one of the lit windows. I smile knowing our years at Hogwarts couldn't have ended any better.

Tomorrow, Sam and I leave for her house, and we won't see anyone else for a few weeks. We're splitting up, but not for good. I've already got our next adventure planned. I'm thinking tropics!

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><p>Yes, sadly this is the end of Mercies In Disguise. But! There will be a sequel! Look out for Losing Hope, as the adventures of the Marauders continue! Please review and tell me if I ended this well! SEQUEL IS OFFICIALLY OUT! IT IS CALLED LOSING HOPE! PLEASE READ! :)<p> 


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